Nightwing: A Dark Beginning
by jacketslacker
Summary: So in this fic I'm gonna pose an interesting origin of Nightwing. Basically, it comes around when Robin gets cheated on and turns dark vigilante. I'm hoping for extreme darkness on the part of RobinNightwing to the point of almost being Slade. This is
1. Wandering the Tower

So in this fic I'm gonna pose an interesting origin of Nightwing. Basically, it comes around when Robin gets cheated on and turns dark vigilante. I'm hoping for extreme darkness on the part of Robin/Nightwing to the point of almost being Slade. This is rated NC-17 for language, violence, gore, and lemony goodness. 

About this chapter: It's gonna start off really slow since I have to set up the story with it. So it might be a bit long and boring but I promise to make up for it in later chapters. If I don't, it's not like I'm getting paid anyways so who cares.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, not even the computer on which I'm writing this.

"Example"-speaking 'Example'-thinking Example-narration

Chapter 1

It was a dreary day in Jump City. It was cold, windy, and raining so hard you couldn't see the mainland from the Tower. It was Raven's kind of day. The 18 year old teen stared out the window watching the storm raging on. It reminded her so much of the one inside her at that moment. And for once, it wasn't the fight to keep control of her emotions. No, that fight was over.

Raven floated away from the window and traveled through the Tower thinking about all that had happened in the past year. To say it had been an interesting year for the Teen Titans was an understatement. In that time, Slade had fallen and wouldn't be coming back again, Terra had been returned to the realm of the living, and Trigon had been defeated. The surprising part to all of it, was that it took only one of the team to accomplish all of it . . . . . Robin.

It was Robing who went after Slade with an unrelenting sense of justice. After all the pain and suffering. After all the games. After all the attempts on the lives of the Titans themselves. Slade was no more. It had been a fierce battle. All the Titans had rushed him at once, only to be thrown around like rag dolls. Once they were scattered around the room, it was then they realized Robin hadn't attacked with them. He'd only stood to watch, much to the annoyance of his comrades who feared he was yet again under the influence of Slade yet again. But that was far from the case. Robin used the pain of his teammates for the extra boost of adrenaline and anger. He would use that to give him strength. Robin was also silently meditating, knowing if he let Slade's words get to him he'd lose. But he didn't. It was a long and hard battle, but Robin came out on top. In the end, Slade died from a broken neck. The sight disturbed all the Titans, including Raven, but Robin just kicked the lifeless corpse and walked away never mentioning it again.

Terra was another story. Robin had called in a person favor to Bruce Wayne and gotten him to fund a project from STAR Labs to turn her human again. Thanks to all the Metahuman activity in Dakota, they had plenty of experience. It took several tried and failed attempts, but at last Terra was free from her rock prison. It took some time, but she was allowed back with the Titans. She'd proven to be a loyal and valued member.

Then came Trigon. He had planned to come back and use Raven to destroy the world. And he almost did. Until her friends came to back her up. Trigon fed on the hate generated by those around, and tried to make her friends turn against her. He failed miserably and instead made them care for her more. The kindness, friendship, and in a rare case that Trigon couldn't pinpoint even the love they held for her weakened him. But not before again causing her friends to fall at his feet and leave her drained of energy. As the dust settled, Trigon stood panting heavily over the broken superheroes. Out of nowhere four birdarangs struck in his eyes blinding him. The beaten Titans looked behind them to see Robin in worse shape than any of them. They stared wide-eyed at the young man who was in such severe pain but still managed to fight. He had broken his arm and several ribs and his eye had swollen shut, but yet he stood against the evil before him. One lone human without superpowers against the most powerful demon ever. In one swift motion, Robin was in the air and his steel-toed boot drove the sharp birdarangs deep into the brain of his enemy, killing him instantly. He then muttered a phrase only the closest person could hear, "That's for Raven you asshole." Raven couldn't believe she'd heard that and watched as Robin limped off, the rest of the team to follow.

Yes, this had been quite the year for the Titans. Raven soon realized that something was amiss with Robin though. He seemed to have become darker and more brooding. Meanwhile, with her father gone, Raven had become more outgoing and could now show emotions. Which turned out not to be such a good thing when she realized she had started caring about Robin more than just a friend. She was really worried about him, but couldn't go near him because of Starfire. That thought really burned Raven up, because afterall, today was Robin and Starfire's 1 year anniversary. 'I wonder what they have planned for tonight?' thought Raven. 'On second thought, I'm not sure I really want to know.' "God, who is playing that music so loud!" she yelled.

"I'm not in the mood to hear blaring, God-awful, mu-" Raven trailed off as she walked into the door to the gym and saw Robin hammering away at the punching bag. He was only wearing sweatpants and Raven couldn't help but stare at him as he went through his routine to the loud thumping music. 'God I want a piece of that,' she though. 'No, I can't have him. He's got Star, why would he even look at me.' Just then Robin kicked the bag right off it's chain and into his boombox.

"Fuck, there goes another bag and boombox I gotta get replaced!" yelled Robin as he turned to storm out the door. He was storming towards Raven and cursing under his breath while she just stood in awe of his chiseled and sweaty chest. Just then, he ran into her and knocked her down. Robin used his quick reflexes to grab Raven around the waist and spin in mid fall to cradle her against his chest so she wouldn't get hurt. Raven couldn't believe it. 'I have to be dreaming. I can't really be in Robin's arms against his bare chest.' Raven jumped up then.

"Sorry, Raven. Didn't mean to knock you over," Robin said still in a slightly grouchy mood.  
"It's okay, Robin. I just heard the music up loud and happened to get to the door right when you were coming out," Ravin said trying not to show the blush on her face. 'Damn he's so hot. Oh the things I'd do to him'  
"Raven, what are you staring at?" Robin waved his hand in front of her glazed over eyes and sounded annoyed.  
"Oh . . . uh . . . n-nothing." Raven stuttered not able to hide her embarrassment any longer. "I gotta go"  
"Whatever"  
'I don't know when Robin got this attitude, but it just makes me hotter.' Raven thought. 'Damn, I need a cold shower.'

As Raven floated off down the hall, Robin headed back for his room. He needed a shower and to do more thinking. 'What is up with Star lately? Everytime I try to take us to the next level she holds back or has some lame excuse.' Robin got in his room and headed for the shower. 'I mean we've been together for a year today and she barely lets me hold her anymore. I know that I've changed a little, hell with the life I've had I feel a lot older than 18 that's for sure. So I've grown up, that's no reason to suddenly treat me so cold.' The workout hadn't relieved any of his stress like he'd hoped and the shower didn't either. 'Shit, with this storm I can't go for a walk. Well, guess I'll just walk around the Tower then.' With that, Robin headed out to wander the halls of the Tower to calm himself. 'Now that I think of it, I haven't seen her at all today. Wonder where she is.'

Raven was sitting on her bed looking at a group picture of the Titans from a few years back. 'Ya know, maybe I should get a new one made. Seeing as how Robin and I are both 18, Cyborg is 19, and Star and Beast Boy are both 17 and this picture is three years old.' Raven sighed, running her finger over the face of Robin. 'I remember you used to be the bright and optimistic little boy that I had a crush on.' Another sigh. 'Now you've turned into a young man with darkness in your heart. The funny thing is, I wouldn't change it at all. I love what you've become, Robin.' Raven gasped. "I love Robin?" A second gasp with wide eyes. "And I just said that out loud." Raven groaned then heard a knock at her door.

"Who is it"  
"Hey, Rae. It's Cy. Have you seen BB around? I can't seem to find him anywhere." The metallic hero scratched his head in thought.  
"Actually," Raven said opening his door, "I was wondering why it was so quiet around here"  
"Yeah, that's what I thought so I started to try and find him. Oh well, guess he'll turn up sooner or later"  
"True, there's no way we'll ever get rid of him." Raven chuckled and Cybord joined in. Then they started to roll with laughter.  
"Ya know, Rae. I'm glad you can laugh now. You're really cool to hang out with when you don't blow stuff up when you're emotions show," Cy smirked at her. "Speaking of which, didn't you challenge me to Halo 2"  
"Yes I did." Raven returned the smirk. "You ready to get beaten by a girl?" "Hey, the only girl allowed to beat me is BumbleBee." After saying that, Cy turned several shades of red.  
"Now there is a mental picture I wanted. Let's go before my brain can let it sink in"  
With that they raced to the living room to start fragging each other.

'Well, surprisingly wandering around the Tower actually has helped me cool down.' Thought Robin as he explored some of the lesser used portions of the Tower. 'Damn, Cy. How big did you make this place? I never even knew some of these places existed.' Robin kept walking letting his head clear and trying to calm himself. 'Maybe I should try asking Raven to help me meditate or something. It's definitely a lot of fun hanging out with her now that she can show emotions and all.' Further down the hallway Robin heard some noises. 'Hmmm, didn't think there was anything or anyone down here.' Robin headed towards the source of the sound and a date with destiny . . . . . .

Jacketslacker: Like I said, this one started out slow and probably a bit on the lame side. It'll get better in the following chapters I promise. Just had to do the initial setup for it though. Well, R&R and tell me so far how you think it's going. Thanks for reading.


	2. The Death of Robin

Warning: Mild Lemon located in this chapter. Lots of bad language and some mild violence.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

Chapter 2

"BOOYAH!. WHO'S NUMBER ONE"  
"YOU'RE NUMBER ONE," Both Bumble Bee and Terra cheered along with their friend. They'd stopped by to hang out and came upon the greatest Halo 2 showdown in Titans history.  
"I SAID, WHO'S NUMBER ONE"  
". . . . . you are," said a stunned Cyborg. "I can't believe you fragged me 100 times and I didn't even hit you once"  
"Oh c'mon sweetheart," Bee cooed, "you can't win them all"  
"Yeah," piped in Terra. "Besides, it helps that Raven has been practicing late at night"  
"WHAT!" Cyborg glared at Raven.  
"He He, guess I forgot to mention that part," Raven chuckled nervously.  
"Ya know, if I wasn't outnumbered 3 to 1, I'd do something about this"  
"Yeah, sure Cy," teased Bee.  
"Oh well, say you guys wanna get a pizza?" Terra asked as her stomach growled.  
Her answer was three more growling stomachs.  
"I'd say that's a yes," said Cyborg. "I'll take meat lovers"  
"I'll split that with you, babe"  
"Okay, Bee. Fine with me"  
Terra looked to Raven. "Split a cheese"  
Raven's stomach growled and everyone chuckled. "Yeah, Terra. Sounds good."

Elsewhere in the tower, Robin was in search of the strange noises he'd heard.  
'I didn't think anyone came down here.' He kept walking in the direction he thought the noises were coming from. 'Hmm, sounds like whispering.' Robin thought as he kept walking. 'Sure is dark around here. Really should tell Cyborg to replace some bulbs down here. Someone could get seriously hur-' But Robin never finished the thought as he turned a dark corner to find the source of the sounds. There across the room from him stood Starfire pinned against the wall. She didn't have her shirt on and had her legs were wrapped around someone. Robin focused and his eyes suddenly went wide. 'Beast Boy? Starfire? What's going on?' Beast Boy was pumping his hips while Starfire did the same right back. The whispering Robin had heard was their moans instead. It was like a train wreck. Robin didn't want to watch, but he couldn't turn away. He was in shock. The grunting was getting louder and Starfire started moaning louder. Suddenly they both tensed and gasped together. Robin knew what had happened, but still couldn't do a thing as his body was frozen. Then, his mind was ripped back to reality when her heard them speak to each other.  
"That . . . was . . . great . . . Star." Beast Boy managed to pant out.  
"Oh . . . yes . . . Beast Boy . . . you . . . are . . an exceptional lover." Starfire replied in between breaths with a large smile on her face.  
'Lover? Did she just call him a lover?' Robin's mind was still too shocked to fathom what was going on.  
"I love you, Star"  
"And I love you, Beast Boy"  
Robin watched them kiss and suddenly everything became clear, and then turned blood red as his anger and rage boiled over. He had never felt this way, even in all the fights with Slade or even Trigon. From deep down in his chest, a force had been unleashed and the monster wanted out. It was time to make his presence known, so Robin inhaled quietly and filled his lungs.  
"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON HERE"  
Starfire and Beast Boy, hugged each other out of fear of the deafening voice that seemed to come from everywhere.  
"Wh-wh-who's there?" stuttered a terrified Beast Boy.  
Robin stepped forward into the light so they could see the look of rage that darkened his face. While their own faces paled.

Cyborg was just about to hit the speed-dial for the pizza joint when a roar came from deep within the tower. The four Titans looked at each other with wide eyes.  
Raven spoke first, "What was that and where did it come from"  
Terra and Bee both shrugged. Cyborg did a quick scan with his sensors and determined the source of the noise.  
"I got it, it's on a lower level. We gotta move. Titans, GO!" With the signature command they all took off following Cyborg. They quickly ran through the darkened halls and came upon three figures standing in a dim light. 'Woah, some major emotions coming from that group there,' thought Raven. 'There's such intense anger, hatred, and rage coming from the one. And the others are terrifi-' Raven's eyes when wide, as did the three Titans with her as they realized that it was Robin staring at a partially nude Starefire and a partially nude Beast Boy in a very compromising position.  
'Oh God.' Thought Raven as she looked at the scene and then set her eyes on Robin. 'Please let him not kill them.' Then she glanced back at the couple and then back to Robin. 'Well, at least make it quick if he does.'

Robin clenched his fists so tight he was sure his hands were bleeding. He stared daggers at the forms before him. His blood felt like it was boiling. His vision was blurred from the unbridled rage he felt. Through gritted teeth he began to speak to them.  
"I said, what the fuck is going on?" His body was starting to tremble and a vein was beginning to rise on his forehead.  
"Robin . . . I . . ." but no words could come to Starfire.  
Beast Boy pulled his pants up and quickly handed Starfire her shirt before he spoke. "Uh, Robin. Look man. I know this looks bad"  
"BAD! It looks a little more than just bad you piece of shit. I want to know why in the hell you're fucking my girlfriend and I want to know NOW"  
Starfire stepped forward and spoke first. "He came to comfort me when you began to be so destructive. It all started with Slade. You were so obsessive you didn't have time for me. You were so different from the innocent Robin I fell in love with"  
Robin narrowed his eyes. "So, because I wanted to rid the world of one of the most evil men to ever be born and wouldn't stop at anything, you started sleeping with Beast Boy"  
"You weren't there for her man. You were obsessed with Slade, and then later with Trigon." Beast Boy threw back at his leader.  
"I have given everything to this team. I was trying to save us all. I EVEN GOT TERRA FREE FOR YOU BEAST BOY." Robin was furious. He looked ready to kill them.  
"Yeah, thanks for that Robin. You freed her 5 months ago. Which was 3 months after me and Star started our fun"  
Robin gritted his teeth so hard they were ready to shatter. "You two have been fucking for 8 months"  
"Yes Robin. And he's a much better lover than you could have ever been." Star put in her opinion.  
The four Titans that had been watching the scene all silently gasped at her bold remark and looked to Robin to see what he would do. He was shaking violently and began to raise his fists. Beast Boy stood in front of Starfire and prepared for the onslaught he knew was coming. 'No Robin, please don't cross the line.' Thought Raven. 'I can feel all you're going through, please don't give in to these emotions. It will only lead you to your own destructi-' Raven suddenly wrinkled her brow in concentration and studied Robin. He had just suddenly stopped shaking and stood there calm as if he was a statue. 'Why can't I feel anything coming from you Robin. What's going on'  
Robin looked straight ahead. No emotion showed on his face. Nothing was said for what seemed like forever. Then robin stood up tall and put his hands behind his back in a stance that haunted all of their dreams until 10 months ago. Then in a chilling voice that caused terror in the hearts of all the Titans, Robin said, "So be it. You've made your decision. Farewell." He then turned and walked off into the darkness towards his room. Raven, Terra, Bumble Bee, Cyborg, and even Beast Boy and Starfire stared wide-eyed at the spot where Robin had walked off with the same though, 'Slade.'

5 minutes of slilence passed. Just when Beast Boy and Starfire began to relax, the four hidden Titans came forward out of the shadows. They all stood with their arms folded across their chests and glared at the couple.  
Cyborg spoke first, "I don't believe this"  
"How could you two do this to him?" Bee asked.  
"This is horrible," Terra spoke up. "What's wrong with you two"  
Raven had yet to speak and everyone glanced at her to see what she'd say. A minute passed before she floated forward and slapped Starfire hard across the face. No one saw the single tear slide down her cheek from behind her hood.  
Starfire then spoke up in her defense, "I just didn't want to break up with him and break his heart. He wouldn't have been as strong and we would not have won then. Is that not what is important friends"  
"Yeah guys," Beast Boy chimed in, "we didn't want it to turn out this way"  
Cyborg scowled at the two. "Oh yeah. I don't see it turning out much better if you'd actually told him about all this"  
Bee was next, "Oh sure, just tell him you've been cheating on him for 8 months with one of his best friends and it will all be good"  
Terra stared at Beast Boy, "You disgust me"  
Raven was burning holes using her eyes at Starfire. "Bitch," she muttered under her breath.  
Just then, an explosion rocked the tower. "Titans, GO!" Yelled Cyborg.

"It's Robin's room!" screamed Terra.  
"The sprinklers are disabled," yelled Cyborg.  
"Oh, God." gasped Bee.  
Raven looked horrified then began her chant, "Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" She encased the fire and it was extinguished. The four Titans ran in the room and find nothing but charred bits all over. But a fireproof box was in the center of the room. Cyborg broke it open to find a disk. The three girls followed him to the living room where he played the disk. Beast Boy and Starfire walked in the door just as he hit play. On the screen was a silhouette of Robin in a dark room, when he spoke it was the same voice that sent chills up the spines of all those present.  
"As you've guessed, I wasn't in my room when that firebomb went off. I decided that it was the only way to ensure that my old identity was gone. All my files and anything that could be linked to me are gone as well. I no longer exist. Robin . . . . is dead." He then stepped into the light and he was wearing Slade's mask. The Titans all gasped. "And now you'll have to deal with me." That was the end of the video. The Titans just stared at the screen a bit longer. No one could believe it. Robin was gone forever, and a new enemy was reborn.

In downtown Jump City, a thief had just finished picking the pocket of a wealthy businessman. As he turned the corner he came face to face with a kid his own age wearing a black leather jacket, black shirt and jeans and boots. His hair was spiked in a familiar style but he just couldn't place the face with such lifeless blue eyes.  
"Do I know you man?" the thief said.  
"Of course you do. I helped make you after all, Jackson Masters. Or should I say, Red X"  
Jackson's eyes went wide. "Robin? What's going on"  
"Don't call me that!" the young man shouted. "The name is Richard Grayson, you can call me Rich"  
"Then you can call me Jax"  
With that, the two shook hands and smirked. This was the beginning of dark times for the great Jump City.

Jacketslacker: And so ends the second chapter. Soo, any better than the first? I don't know what color Robin's eyes are, and I just chose Richard Grayson because I felt like it. I made up the name for Red X, if anyone knows the real name or eye color for Richard Grayson I'll gladly change it. Well, thanks for reading. I'm hoping to get another chapter out in a few days, maybe a week at the latest. R&R everybody. 


	3. New Beginnings

Chapter summary: Here's 3. It's kinda lame cause it's another setup chapter. But 4 will be a bunch of cut scenes of the Titans breaking down and the dark duo gearing up. Hope you like.

Disclaimer: Nope, still don't own the Titans.

Chapter 3

Two black-clad young men sauntered down the street. They had their hands in the pockets as they talked and wandered the busy streets. The black-haired one was doing most of the talking. While the one with brown hair and eyes simply listened with interest.  
"So, here we are," Rich finished his story in the monotone Slade-like voice.  
"Man, that is harsh. I had no idea that she was even capable of something like that," Jax said. "So what exactly did you come to me for? And if the whole Slade thing you've got going is an act, would you mind dropping it. It's kinda freaky"  
Rich smirked. "Alright, no problem then," he replied in his normal, but still emotionless, voice. "I was just using that to get a point across and scare the others. I'm confident it worked. And the reason I came to you is simple. In all our matches, I noticed how you didn't like to steal and it seemed you'd rather be a good guy. I want to know if that's the case"  
"Yeah," Jax sighed. "I don't like to do it, this is just all I know. You have no idea how much I would have rather joined you guys instead of fighting against you"  
"Would you like that chance now"  
"What are you talking about, Rich"  
"I'm planning on starting out on my own, vigilante like when I first joined up with Batman. I want to know if you'd like to join me"  
Jax looked at Rich in shock. "Are you serious? You want me to help you fight crime?" Rich nodded. "What's the catch, Rich"  
"Only a few. We'll be a team, I'll take lead. Don't worry, this isn't a sidekick thing, I'm talking partners just like the Titans"  
"Okay, I'm interested. What do we do"  
"First, we need to setup a base for ourselves. I have some money tucked away that we'll be able to use to help get us set up." 'Thank you, Bruce,' thought Rich. "Then we'll need new suits"  
"What's wrong with the one I have already?" Jax seemed a little upset.  
"Nothing, but I found a way to make the synovium that powers it much more stable and even a way to refine it. We can build new suits for the new stuff and they will be more powerful. That is, unless you want to keep the old one still," Rich smirked at Jax knowing he couldn't resist the bait.  
"Alright, I'm game. Let's get going."

Across the bay in the Titans Tower things were not quite as peaceful.  
"Friends, why will you not speak to Beast Boy and I, nor even look us in our eyes?" Questioned a naive Starfire.  
Cyborg, Bumble Bee, Terra, and Raven just ignored the whining voice that kept plaguing them throught the day. But now they couldn't take it anymore. Raven spoke first.  
"Don't call us 'friends' anymore"  
"Buy why?" Starfire asked in her whining voice again.  
"Because after what you two have done, you don't have that right anymore," shot Cyborg.  
"We'll continue to fight alongside you, but that's it. Out there things won't have changed. We'll back you up, but back here you just stay away from us," Terra glared at the duo standing across the way.  
"Okay, I guess we deserve this," Beast Boy said and took Starfire's hand. "C'mon Star, let's go for a walk or something." They then walked out of the building and wandered around the island. The remaining Titans sat in silence thinking about what had happened.  
"Do you guys really think Robin will pick up where Slade left off?" Bumble Bee asked.  
"I dunno, Bee," Cyborg answered. "I mean he has gone out on a bit of a limb lately, but after today anything might be possible"  
"Raven, did you sense anything from him right before he left?" Terra asked.  
Raven looked up to her friends, the dried tears on her face hidden by her hood. "I wish I had. But I honestly felt no emotions from him at all. It was like he was a complete shell of himself." She stopped speaking as she felt her voice begin to crack and the tears start to flow again.  
"Cy, I'm gonna head back to Titans East. I'll talk to you later," Bumble Bee got up with a quick kiss to Cyborg and left. The three remaining Titans sat in silence. One thought was on all their minds, would they really have to fight Robin?

Rich and Jax were checking out their newly acquired base of operations.  
"Nice warehouse, Rich. It's got tons of rooms for some cool toys and a couple of rooms upstairs for our quarters," Jax looked around seing the potential. "So we've got the building, now what do we need to do to make it our base"  
"We'll need a computer and satellite equipment. Some other various goodies for tapping into different databases across the city will definitely be on the list. Also we'll need to look into some surveillance equipment to keep tabs on the Titans and all the goons. Then of course parts for vehicles and our new suits"  
"Damn, that's quite a list. So what do you want me to do?" Jax asked his new partner.  
"Your job is to go out as Red X and keep an eye on the Titans. I plan to devise plans according to how they'll fight from now on with me gone"  
"Okay, no problem except I don't have the belt anymore remember"  
"Yeah, I have it for you," Robin tossed the Red X power belt to Jax with a smirk.  
"So, I've been meaning to ask. If you aren't taking over for Slade, won't the Titans figure something is up"  
"No. Before I left I had determined that Brother Blood was picking up the slack and starting to combine all the resources together. I don't think he's after rebuilding H.I.V.E. only revenge against the Titans. So while Blood sends all his minions to attack them, they'll think it's me and they'll stay off our trail. Okay. You suit up and start patrolling. I'll do some shopping. Good luck, Jax"  
"Thanks, Rich. Good luck to you too"  
With that, the two parted ways and began their operations.

A few hours later at Titans Tower an alarm starts blaring. Everyone runs to the main room to find out whats going on. The animosity among the team seems gone just as they said, only in battle will the differences be set aside.  
"It's Cinderblock. He's trying to bust some guys out of jail," Cyborg stated. "Titans, GO"  
The Titans arrived at the jail to find that the prisoners had almost escaped. Terra used her powers to create a rock wall to keep the prisoners at bay while Raven used her dark magic to put them back in their cells. That only left Cinderblock, who was upset all his work was going to waste.  
"Well, guess I won't be using the Sonic Boom," Cyborg said sadly. Suddenly, inspiration hit. "Terra, he's just a big rock. Can you control him at all"  
"I'll give it a shot, but no promises." Terra gritted her teeth and began to concentrate as hard as she could. She managed to get him about 20 feet in the air. "That's the best I've got, Cy"  
"That's good enough. Raven, see if you can help get him a bit higher"  
"Right. Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" The black energy engulfed Cinderblock and Raven strained to lift him higher, noticing that put him just over the height of the prison walls.  
"Great!" Shouted Cyborg. "Beast Boy and Starfire try to move him over the walls while Raven and Terra keep him elevated"  
Beast Boy transformed into a Pterodactyl and started pulling Cinderblock over the wall while Starfire pushed him. They soon had him positioned over the main yard of the prison.  
"Perfect. Okay, drop him." With that, Terra and Raven released their hold on the rock giant and he plummeted to the ground with a satisfying thud. "Good work team. Let'g go home." Cyborg, Raven, and Terra got into the T-car while Beast Boy remained in Pterodactyl form and flew back with Starfire.

Unbeknownst to the Titans, they scene had been watched by Brother Blood on a hidden camera.  
"Well, it appears those annoying pests have foiled my plans at getting Mothman, Mumbo, and Control Freak out of prison. But no matter. It is only a minor set back. I'm curious as to why Robin was not with them. But at least my favorite Titan of them all is in charge for the moment. Enjoy it while it lasts, Cyborg. You won't be around long to enjoy it." Brother Blood laughed sinisterly.

The Titans soon arrived back at the Tower. They were all in the main room when Beast Boy spoke first.  
"Cy, man, that was a really sweet plan you had there." The green changeling raised his hand for a high five but Cyborg ignored him and walked into the kitchen. Beast Boy shrugged and headed for Terra. "Terra, that was really cool how you were able to lift Cinderblock like that. You're definitely getting your powers under control." Terra simply glared and walked away. 'Dude, they can't stay mad forever.' Thought Beast Boy. Then he spotted Raven and started over to her. "Hey Ra-" But he never got to finish as Raven spun around and hit him square in the nose with her fist. This sent him flying across the room and he hit the wall. Starfire rushed to his side to see if she could help. They both looked to raven who scowled at them under her hood before phasing through the floor. "It appears they were right when they said we were no longer friends, Beast Boy." Starfire began to sob. Beast Boy put his arm around her and brought her into a hug as he slowly rubbed her hair. "I know Star, I know."

Floating outside the window, Red X couldn't believe it. 'Damn, they're falling apart without him. I sure hope you know what you're doing, Rich.' Alright, time to head back to the warehouse. Red X then levitated to the ground and ran off towards the city.  
When he got to the warehouse, it was late in the afternoon and it looked like Rich had done a lot of shopping. There was everything they needed to make the place a home, but no high tech equipment. "Hey Rich, where's the computers and gadgets"  
"On order. You really expect me to have those laying around?" Rich smirked. "Now come help me move this shit and get it all set up"  
While they worked, Jax informed his partner about what he observed both in the battle and back at the Tower. It was late that night before they had everything set up. "Well, there's no place like home," Jax said with a smile on his face. "Yeah," Rich said with a hint of malice in his voice. "The equipment will be here in a few days, then we'll be ready to start gearing up. I figure we'll be ready in 4 months. Until then, we wake early and train. We have to be stronger and faster than ever if we're gonna do this. Then you'll follow the Titans for a bit, then back here for some more training. While you're gone I'll work on creating our new suits and everything we'll need. We'll show this city a thing or two." Rich said with a wicked grin on his face.  
"You know it man," Jax replied. "See you tomorrow then. 6:00 sound good"  
"Yeah, Jax. 6:00 sounds good"  
With that, the dark duo when to bed to rest up for the grueling 4 months to come.

Jacketslacker: So how's it going so far. I'm sorry for taking so long to update, just had some work had to be finished first. I'm hoping to have 4 out within the next week. Please be sure to review to let me know how I'm doing. Flames are welcome too. Later. 


	4. Four Months Later

Chapter Summary: Spans some basic story setup for the four months that Robin/Rich has been gone. New realizations will be found, new suits made, and new heroes born. 

Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, so leave me alone!

Chapter 4

Bumble Bee decided to stop by the Tower to see how things were going. It had been a month since Robin had left. The crimes perpetrated by Slades former lackies were getting more and more intense and the Titans were having trouble handling them. The one thought on all their minds, was if Robin had truly taken over and was now running the organization. Cyborg was doing his best to keep the team going, but there just weren't any leads to try and find Robin. It was like he'd completely disappeared. Even Batman couldn't help out, not that he seemed too worried about it which really ticked Cyborg and Raven off. But Bumble Bee wasn't here to talk about that. She'd brought over some pizzas for the team, at least the part she was willing to be in the same room with.  
"Hey everybody," she said. "Brought some pizza, thought you guys could use something to eat"  
Cyborg looked up from the computer screen, "That sounds like a great idea, Bee. Thanks." He went over and took the boxes while giving her a chaste kiss.  
Across the room Raven was reading a book while Terra was watching TV. Both their stomachs growled at the thought of the food and the ran over to the table.  
"Bee, you're the greatest," Terra said diving for a slice.  
"Definitely," Raven agreed.  
While they sat around enjoying the food and chatting, the doors slid open to reveal Beast Boy and Starfire holding hands. The four Titans at the table simply arranged themselves with their backs to the hated couple and continued on as they weren't there. Beast Boy and Starfire just looked down at the floor then went to the kitchen and got some food before leaving without speaking a word. Once they'd left, Bumble Bee couldn't help but bring it up.  
"Still haven't kicked them out huh"  
"As much as we'd like to," Terra began," we still need them on the team"  
"We have an agreement to work together outside the Tower, but inside we don't want anything to do with them," Cyborg stated.  
"Personally I'd love to turn them inside out but Cy doesn't want to have to clean up the mess," Raven grumbled.  
"Any new leads on Robin?" Bumble Bee asked.  
"No, Bee, and it's not something we like to talk about if you don't mind," Cyborg said while looking at the ground.  
Silence surrounded them as they finished the pizza then decided they needed a walk so they left.

Across town in the old abandoned warehouse nicknamed The Pit, Rich and Jax were hard at work training. The training room wasn't painted. Raw, rusted metal covered all the walls just like the rest of the building. The jet black and stainless steel equipment in the room was the only other coloring. The rooms were brightly lit with fluorescent lights giving it an unnatural brightness to the dark room. They had already finished their strength training and were now doing work on combat skills. They were currently sparring with each other. Their skill had improved over the last month and their added strength proved to be quite useful as well. They went round and round the combat mat and had been going all out for a few hours now, when it was decided to call it quits for the day. They then each went to their rooms and showered to come back and get to work. In his room, Rich sat on his bed looking at the wall of newspaper clippings. His room had the same walls as all the others, without a single window to let any light in. His single bare lightbulb in the center of the room the only source of dim light shining on his black furniture. He looked at the clippings, all about the team since he'd left. The articles weren't quite as detailed as the reports Jax gave him, but it was more the pictures he was interested in anyways. It showed the team without any smiles, and the definite division amongst the ranks. Cyborg stood at the front, with Raven and Terra on either side. While the unholy couple stood a bit off to one side. One headline had been blown up and was the theme for the whole wall; 'Where is Robin?' That always made Rich smirk, cause he knew he was dead and gone. Rich then went and picked up his plans for the secret weapons he'd developed to render each of the Titans momentarily powerless if they ever had to go against each other. 'Afterall,' Rich thought, 'superpowers aren't exactly fair against a couple of normal guys like us.' His eyes then caught a picture of Raven with her hood down and the wind blowing. 'Oh the things I could do to her if she didn't have her powers. But that will have to wait for now. Better head downstairs.' Once back downstairs in the main room Jax began his debriefing.  
"So as it looks, the original plan of working together on the battle field but not giving a shit for each other back at the Tower is starting to slip." Jax said. "It's definitely split up into Cy, Ter, and Rae fighting together and the other two separate from them"  
Rich smirked. "Exactly as I expected. They can't keep the team together when there is no trust or loyalty. So tell me about the last battle, it was with Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth right"  
"Yeah, and boy was it a good one. Cy took on Mammoth, Ter and Rae took Jinx, and the couple from Hell took on Gizmo. Cy and Mammoth have always been pretty evenly matched, so it was a giant shoving match pretty much. Cy finally got the upper hand thanks to a Sonic blast at just the right moment. Ter and Rae were having a bit of trouble with Jinx. She kept jinxing every damn thing she could get her hands on and the girls were doing all the could to dodge. Finally, Rae decided she'd use her powers to block the debris leaving Ter free to attack. A couple of boulders knocked her out cold. Then, the three just kinda stared at the other two, who were having major trouble with Gizmo. They then looked like they were about to go join the fight, but the alien bitch managed to disturb Gizmo long enough for the green asshole to hit him in some animal form or another. I never really pay attention to what idiotic form he's taken really. And that covers that. So, how's the new suits coming"  
"Good, great in fact. I'm still ironing out some power trouble in your suit, but I should have it fixed in another month or two. Then I just have to get the other components to finish it up. Mine is a bit further off, but most of the tech I need is already arrived. The synovium I need is still two months off, so that will be the main hold up. Then I have to refine it for my suit and stabilize it for yours. Don't worry, I still have enough to keep your current suit going until the other one is ready. Other than that, we're right on schedule. I'd say in another three months, we'll make our debut. Before I get too far into them, is there anything you'd like to see done with it for looks"  
"I'd like to keep it basically the same if you could"  
"Not a problem, still gonna be Red X then"  
"You know it. So, what name are you gonna use instead"  
"I'm thinking of changing to Nightwing. What do you think"  
"It sounds rather menacing and dark. It'll go along good with your longer hair and permanent scowl. Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner"  
"Alright, that's enough of that. Let's get some dinner and then it's time for you to patrol"  
"I prefer the term stalking." Jax smirked. They both laughed and headed to the kitchen.

Cyborg slowly opened his human eye. 'Guess my robotic one ain't working.' When his sight adjusted he realized he was in his room with a lot of medical equipment too. Then he noticed Bumble Bee with his back to him. "Hey, what's going on"  
"Oh God, Cy you're awake!" Bumble Bee ran over to look at her boyfriend. "You were practically dismantled in that last fight. Cinderblock, Plasmus, and Overload combined into that big ugly thing and were just hammering on you. The others couldn't get near you to help. The Slade ninjabots were too much for them and then even the bots started in on you"  
"How bad is it, Bee"  
"You don't have any arms or legs, your eye was smashed, your chest and back are cut up pretty bad, and you're plugged directly into your charging station to keep you alive. We can't repair you, only you know your tech. We could only keep the human part alive and wait for you to wake up. I'll get the others and we'll help you get yourself back together." With that she ran out of the room.  
Cyborg then saw his reflection in a mirror and was horrified. 'They ripped me limb from limb. I can see my bare wires and torn metal components. The sparks and hydraulic fluids are everywhere. I can't believe I survived all that.' As he was staring, he remembered what one of the Sladebots had said to him and his eye went wide and he gasped. The gasp caused him to grimace in pain and start coughing. Bumble Bee came in with Terra and Raven who rushed over to make sure he was alright.  
"Cy, you okay bro?" Terra asked.  
"Just tell us what to do and we'll get you back together. We'll stay with you until it's all done." Raven said.  
"Guys, thanks so much. So who saved me"  
"That's the weird thing, the bots just suddenly turned on the triple-threat and after it destroyed them all, we were able to get to you and help out. No clue what happened." Terra said with a puzzled look on her face.  
"Do you think Robin is jealous of Cy for taking over so that's why they only attacked him?" Bumble Bee asked.  
"Robin isn't running Slade's organization." They all stared at Cyborg when he stated this. "One of the bots, just before I passed out, he said that Master Blood was so dissapointed in my leadership and combat skills. Then the next thing I remember is waking up here"  
"Wait, so you're saying that Brother Blood is in charge of the organization, not Robin?" Raven almost shouted at the destroyed Cyborg.  
"I think so. It all makes sense. Robin would toy with us more, Blood just wants us gone. He especially wants me gone so that's why they ganged up on me"  
"Okay, then that still leaves us with one question." Raven stated with a hint of worry in her voice. "Where is Robin"  
Outside the window, a figure hovered while cloaked watching the whole scene. 'Good, he's gonna be okay. Better report back to Rich.' He then descended to the ground and got on his motorcycle to head back to The Pit. "Nightwing, this is Red X, come in"  
"This is Nightwing, go ahead X. What's the situation"  
"Cy is awake and remembers the Blood comment. They've figured it out. They're gonna start putting him together now. It's a good thing you were able to send the signal through our link to scramble those bots. Oh, one more thing. I think Raven likes you. She seems a little worried about you, Rich"  
"Raven doesn't like anyone. She probably just wonders if I'm alive like all the others. It's been three months after all. By the way, I need you to swing by S.T.A.R. Labs and pick up the synovium. It's there and ready for pickup to use in the final phase. Just go to the back door, after removing your suit of course, and tell them you're there to pick up the order for Jackson Masters"  
"Alright, I'm on my way there now. Are the suits finished up"  
"Yeah. Soon as you get me the synovium it'll take a week and then we'll be ready to test them out"  
"Awesome man. Can't wait. Red X, out."

A week later, the new battle suits were completed and it was time to suit up and test them out. They were now armored suits. The chest guards held snug to them and showed off the chiseled muscles they'd worked hard to create. The boots were connected through joints to shin guards, up to knee pads and even thigh protectors. Utility belts acted as an anchor point for the torso and leg armors, as well as the arm guards as well. The gaunlets, which stretched all the way to the elbow with gadgets were the key to fighting. Red X had the X across his chest plate like before and across the right eye of his lightly armored skull mask. He also decided to keep the cape. Nightwing ditched the cape and had a firebird symbol in electric blue upon his chest. The same color could be found in accents on the rest of the suit. He also now donned a V-shaped mask similar to the old one he wore. They decided it was time to test the weapons out and find some problems with the suits.  
"Okay, same weapons as before, X. This time a bit more powerful. Also, you're now able to fly, not just hover. It's not as fast as Superman, but it's still got some speed to it. Also, you can now use the suit unlimited, no replacing synovium. An extra incentive is that the X's on your palms can fire a beam of synovium energy, again that won't deplete the reserve. Your belt is empty, I thought I'd let you stock that with whatever you want. Any questions"  
"Yeah, I have two. One: what does your suit do? Two: what are you putting in your belt"  
"Well, the underside of my arm guards shoot a small object into my hand which then expands into my new birdarangs. (A/N: picture the Batman Beyond type) I have the same beam as you do along with the cloaking and flying capability. I have some different weapons built in than you, but those are a secret for our friends. My belt has freeze disks, my pole staff, and just some other useful tools. I don't want to spoil too much of the surprise. Alright, now let's head to the gym and see what we've got"  
2 hours later, the suits had been pushed to the limits and both young men stumbled back to the lab.  
"Okay, so we know we need a better controller for flight and the palm blasters. And my cloaking mechanism is sticking. Anything else?" asked Jax as he tossed his mask on the table.  
Rich removed his mask and shook his head letting his shoulder-blade length hair fly around his head. "I can't believe I missed those defects. It'll take me a few weeks to get them fixed. But we'll still meet our deadline. Go ahead and get some patroling in, you need to get some new intel from our underground connections and I'll get started on the suits"  
"Alright, I'll bring the new one down when I switch them out. Don't stay up too late, Rich"  
"Good luck, Jax."

Three weeks later, exactly four months since the death of Robin, two black clad figure stood on top of The Pit. It was time for Nightwing and Red X to make their debut in the crime fighting world. All the hard work, all the set backs, all the late nights, and all the intel they'd gathered over that time had been put to good use and they new the time and place of everything going down in the city to the minute.  
Nightwing smirked. "This is gonna be good. Ready X"  
"Ready Nightwing." Red X replied in his robotic voice.  
"Alright then, let's do this"  
The two then jumped into the air and flew off, cloaking themselves as they approached the city. Tonight would be a night the Titans wouldn't soon forget.

Jacketslacker: So what did everyone think? In the next chapter the city get introduced to the new heroes and the Titans new competition. More detailed battles and a glance into the dark mind of Rich/Nightwing will be included. So please read and review. I'm looking to see what people want to see more of, what people don't want to see more of, and just general input. I got 1 review and hopefully I can use what was suggested. Don't worry, the Lemon I promised will show up in probably the next chapter. So see everyone there. 


	5. Heroes Reborn

Jacketslacker: First, I'd like to thank my three reviewers. OmegaRed9, gfunkcui03, and Bloodx; thank you all for reading and reviewing. I plan to use what ideas and suggestions you've given me to the best of my ability. So keep them coming people. And thanks again.

Chapter Summary:

Disclaimer: on phone Do I own them now? . . . . . . . No! (DAMN!)

Chapter 5

Flying towards the city, Red X couldn't help but notice some changes to his view. "Hey, did you do something to my mask"  
"Yeah. I got the idea when I was finishing up the flight systems. Our masks are small Heads Up Displays with all kinds of goodies in them. You also have a built in radio and I have this ear piece so we can communicate." It was then that over their conversation the police band picked up reports of a silent alarm at the bank.  
"Well, looks like intel was right. Ready for some action, X"  
"Hell yeah! Let's go kick some ass"  
"Remember, don't hurt them too much. We're supposed to be good." With that they flew towards the bank. They arrived a few minutes later still invisible and surveyed the scene. Three hooded thugs had shot the two guards and were stuffing sacks full of money. Nightwing switched his mask over to analyze their vitals and determined they weren't seriously hit, but would still need a hospital visit. He then looked over to Red X. "X, take out the guy at the door with the machine gun, I'll get the other two. Make sure to disarm him first"  
"Got it, Nightwing"  
They then swooped down. Red X used his palm X to create a throwing star and pulled his arm back waiting for Nightwing to signal. Nightwing used his gauntlet and two birdarangs snapped up into his hands ready for action. He nodded over to Red X and they both threw their weapons. The machine gun was cut clean in half as metal sparked and pieces fell to the ground. The thug held the two parts in his hand and stared with his eyes wide. Red X couldn't help but snicker. The same thing happened to the handguns the other thugs held. They were now only holding grips and nothing more. Nightwing and Red X then landed and decloaked in front of the thugs. They took a step back in terror.  
"What the fuck are they"  
"I think their ghosts"  
"No, their dead is what they are. Get 'em"  
The thugs rushed the black clad teens. Red X jumped and rammed his fist into the gut of the larger man. He landed several feet back before getting to his feet. Just in time to meet a large metallic boot to his face in a vicious double blow. This sent him flying into the wall leaving a body shapped indention. Red X cringed. 'God I hope Nightwing doesn't kill me for that' he thought. He then looked over at his partner to find him finishing up his fight. It hadn't taken much, the first attack took out the one guy since it was a double clothesline. The second appeared to be able to want more of a beating. Nightwing punched him in the stomach a few times then finished with an upper cut that sent him flying to the ceiling, bringing down some ceiling tiles. 'Damn, don't know my own strength anymore.' Nightwing then looked over at Red X. The two approaced each other and gently punched their fists together.  
"Excellent work, Red X"  
"You too, Nightwing." Just then the police arrived. "Ready, X"  
"Let's go make some fans." 

Across the bay at Titans Tower, Raven, Terra, and Cyborg were sitting on the couch watching the news. Suddenly, they came on with a breaking report about a bank robbery. The three Titans perked up at this, wondering why they hadn't gotten the call.  
"That's right, Maria. I'm here with the two new heroes responsible for the capture of these notorious bank robbers." Then, two armored figures clad in black with either blue or red accents stepped into the picture. The Titans gasped.  
"So, would our new heroes like to address the city?" the reporter asked.  
The figure with the blue bird-like emblem on his chest stepped forward. His look was sour. He didn't seem to enjoy the spotlight or just the fact that others were happy it seemed to Raven. "My name is Nightwing, this is my partner Red X. We've come to help keep crime down in this lovely city of yours"  
"Do you mean to say that you're here to replace the Teen Titans?" the reporter asked with a look of surprise on her face.  
Nightwing kept the same look, but smirked slightly. The sight of it disturbed Raven. 'There's something so familiar about that smirk, but the long hair has me baffled. Then Red X stepped forward to speak.  
"No, no. We just know that the Teen Titans have their work cut out for them with all the heavy hitting criminals. So we thought we'd pick up the small crooks to help keep the crime down in the city. We don't intend to replace them at all"  
"Well, I'm sure the Teen Titans will be glad for your help then. Do you have plans to join them"  
"Not at this time. Maybe one day." Nightwing still looked like he didn't want to be there.  
"Yeah, but we have to be off. You'll see us around though." Red X spoke as he and Nightwing turned and flew off before disappearing into thin air.  
"Well there you have it folks. It looks like Jump City has some new heroes and the Teen Titans have some new allies in the fight against evil. Back to you, Maria"  
The Titans stared at the screen. The silence was broken by a loud and annoying voice from behind them.  
"That is Robin! Remember I told you about him when I visited the future in the past?" They didn't turn around, they knew who it was, but the realization of the truth of her statement was settling in.  
Raven then spoke up. "As much as I hate to say this, she's actually right. I think that is Robin. But why has he teamed up with Red X and what is he planning"  
"I don't know Rae," Cyborg spoke up "but I don't like it at all"  
"Do you suppose he plans on taking us out?" asked Terra.  
They all sat in silence again, staring at the rest of the news. Beast Boy, then took Starfires hand and lead her out of the room. Under his breath, while looking back at the rest of the Titans, he mumbled, "I think he already has."

"Damn, that was a long night." sighed Red X as he went inside The Pit and removed his mask.  
"Yeah, but after the bank job, jewelry heist, and drug deal were all busted we did good. Especially since the press was there all the way." Nightwing removed his mask and rubbed his eyes. "Now it's time for some shut eye. See you in the morning, Jax"  
"Night Rich"  
Jump City's newest heroes lay down in their beds and instantly drifted off to sleep. While Jax dreamt of all the fun he was gonna have being a hero, Rich tossed in his dreamless sleep. He tossed and turned in the blackness of his mind until the next day.

Rich woke first, an old habit he couldn't kick, and got ready for the day. He and Jax had already decided today would be a day off for them after last nights successful operation. Jax came down an hour later to find Rich cutting articles about their exploits out of paper.  
"Cool, we got front page. It's a good shot of us, Rich. You could try smiling a bit more maybe"  
"I told you, I don't do smiling in public anymore." Rich put the paper down. "Hey, it's lunch time. Let's grab our cycles and head for some pizza"  
"Now you're talking. Let's ride"  
The two then got on their black motorcycles, hit the remote for the bay door, and took off towards the city. Their favorite pizza joint was calling their names. When they got there, they parked their cycles and walked up to the place. Rich was putting his hair back in a ponytail while Jax ordered a large cheese pizza. They went and sat down with their drinks and chatted about different things, slipping into crime fighter discussion when no one was near. Suddenly, Jax's jaw dropped.  
"Rich, you're not gonna believe this," he said gesturing with his head a few tables over.  
Rich did a double take. "Oh shit." Cyborg, Bumble Bee, Raven, and Terra were sitting down at a table. "Wait, no need to panic. They won't recognize me"  
"How can you be so sure"  
"Easy, they've never seen me without a mask"  
"Oh, yeah that would be a good reason. Well, back to what we were talking about then." The duo then returned to their conversation.  
Across the way, Raven felt a strange sensation and looked around. The only other people were a couple of guys at a table in some kind of discussion. They were talking low and would glance over every now and then at the Titans. The one with longer hair had such cold blue eyes that sent shivers up her spine. The Titans got their order and continued to eat while going on with their everyday boring conversation that didn't interest Raven at all. She noticed the boys getting up and starting to leave. She glanced down at her plate.  
"Hey, let's have some fun with them," suggested Jax in a low whisper. Rich just nodded.  
"Hey, aren't you guys the Teen Titans?" Jax asked.  
"Yes we are," Cyborg grinned widely. "You want an autograph"  
"No, we were just wondering how come we haven't seen you guys in the paper in the past few days and then all of a sudden those two new guys showed up. You guys are still fighting crime right?" Jax could barely keep the smirk off his face.  
"Yes we are, we're just in a bit of a slump and the bad guys are starting to get tougher." Terra almost yelled at the offending teen.  
"Oooh, I like them fiesty." Jax teased.  
"Hey, lay off." Raven sneered. Jax stepped back and raised his hands showing he meant no harm.  
Rich then spoke, "C'mon, we got shit to do. Hope you find what's missing so you get your groove back"  
Raven scowled. "Damn, what a couple of jerks." 'Although, the one with the pony tail was cute and brooding. Okay, that came from nowhere.' The thought caused her scowl to deepen.  
"I second that motion, Rae." Terra scowled, but then blushed a little and her look softened. "Although they were kinda cute. And the black-haired one was checking Raven out"  
"So I wasn't the only one who noticed that?" chimed Bumble Bee.  
Raven just blushed and looked down. 'Well, at least nothing is blowing up I guess.'

"Hey, Rich. Is that Terra girl single"  
Rich laughed. "Yeah, you want me to introduce you or something"  
"No, it would blow our cover. But, do you think we could maybe hang around more often to get to know them better"  
Rich smiled. "Sure thing man. I kinda miss hanging with them. But we're gonna have to keep up the act"  
"So what are we gonna do today, oh fearless leader?" Jax said with a smirk.  
"Well, I was thinking we'd race around the streets for a while, see how many cops we can piss off, then just disappear and come back tonight to kick more ass"  
"You're so good your bad, or is it you're so bad you're good? Well, the point is that it's gonna be fun. You know what tonight is, right"  
"Yup. That gang is going to rob the gold depository downtown. There will be close to 50 guys, all heavily armed and trigger happy." Rich glanced over at his partner as they raced down the street. "It's gonna be too easy"  
"Hell yeah!" shouted Jax.  
The boys then tore off downtown and started the biggest chase the city had seen. They made the news that night, which the Titans watched.  
"Damn, I knew those guys were trouble"  
"Yeah, Cy. But don't make fun of Terra and Raven's boyfriends." Bumble Bee couldn't hide her giggle.  
"HE IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Both girls yelled. "Leave them alone Bee. Well, looks like they gave the cops the slip. Oh well, maybe we'll run into them again"  
Just then, the alarm went off. The screen switched to show a small army of heavily armed men robbing the gold depository.  
"Bee, call Titans East. See if any of those guys can get over there to help out"  
"Got it Cy. What about . . . . . . them?" Bumble Bee motioned with her head towards the closed door meaning Beast Boy and Starfire.  
"If they show, send them over. If not, who needs them." Raven spit out the last part.  
"Alright, let's go kick some ass!" Terra yelled.  
Cyborg inhaled deeply before shouting, "Titans, GO!"

Across town, the gang members were entering the vault. When the doors swung open, they found two dark figures sitting atop the gold.  
"Sorry boys, but there won't be any withdrawals today." The one with long hair said. Then the other one spoke.  
"However, we will gladly deposit you in prison"  
The thugs all grunted. The leader then shouted, "Kill the fuckers!" At his command the gang members raised their guns to blast the heroes away, but they were too slow. The duo had already reached into their belts and come up with exploding disks in each of their hands. They threw the disks before the first shots could be fired. The disks flew in between the thugs and exploded sending shockwaves out. The shockwave knocked those next to them against walls and each other rendering them unconscious. The end result was 20 down and 30 to go. Before the rest of the thugs could react, the duo had rushed them. Using their increased strength from the months of training combined with the flight ability of the suits, their speed was blinding. Punches and kicks rained down on the unsuspecting gang members. Bones cracked, noses spewed blood, teeth flew threw the air, and more blood was spit out. Some of the men were trying to shoot the crime-fighters but only ended up hitting each other in the crossfire. When the fight was over, there were 49 bodies laying sprawled out all over the room, only the leader stood in the center of it all completely dazed. Nightwing suddenly appeared in front of him and landed a front kick to his rib cage, breaking 3 ribs and bruising many more. The man was gasping for breath when the two figures stalked up before him.  
"We're gonna let you live tonight, because we know you won't be trying anything like this ever again." Nightwing coldly stated to the injured leader.  
"Make sure to pass word around. We own the streets now. Nothing goes down in this city that we don't know about." Red X said.  
"I'll . . . . be sure . . . . . to tell them all. . . . ." the man gasped just before passing out from the pain.  
Nightwing and Red X stood up. They shook hands then looked at the camera in the ceiling that recorded it all. They saluted and then disappeared, leaving a sea of blood and bodies in their wake. Which is what the three Teen Titans found when they arrived shortly after.  
"Damn, everybody check for survivors." Cy ordered.  
"None of them are dead. Just beaten into bloody pulp." Raven remarked in astonishment at the damage.  
Terra covered her mouth, "I think I'm gonna be sick"  
The police and paramedics came and cleaned up. Cyborg took the security tape back to the Tower to watch.  
When they got back to the main room in the Tower, Bumble Bee was on the couch while Beast Boy and Starfire were at the table. Cyborg went over to the TV and put in the tape. The whole fight scene played out before the astonished teens. It was only two against a heavily armed army of 50, and they trashed them.  
Raven couldn't believe the ferocity that Nightwing fought with. He was like a machine, only there for justice and stopping evil at all costs. His brutality amazed her. When the video ended, the Teen Titans just stared blankly at each other, then bowed their heads as they realized a monster had been unleashed on the city under the disguise of a hero.  
Raven turned and headed to her room. The tears were already stinging at her eyes and she didn't want anyone to see them. Once in her room she collapsed on her bed and began to cry. Images of the happy leader Robin flashed through her mind. All the good times they shared. It was gone, and now new images of Nightwing began to pop up. Watching him brutally beat a man into submission with a look of rage on his face. The cruel tone of his voice from the TV rang through her head. "Please, come back to us." Raven said in between sobs. "Come back to . . . . . me." Raven then cried herself to sleep wondering if she'd ever get to tell him how much he meant to her.

Jacketslacker: And thus ends another installment of my story. I recieved two more review by e-mail for my story from Lady of Faerie and kylefighter1. In response to some of the questions I've recieved: I'm glad you like the suits. I'm trying to find someone who's good at drawing to hook me up so everyong can see what my mind envisions. Also, Starfire and Beast Boy won't be getting killed. As much fun as that would be, I have other plans for them. Slade isn't coming back, which may make some people upset because he brings out the best/worst in Robin. The point is, Robin and his past are dead. Sorry. Also, the teams may or may not change. If I give away too much you won't come back to keep reading. So keep reading and reviewing. Send me input, including ideas, likes, and dislikes and I'll see what I can do. Until then, see you next chapter. 


	6. Hanging Out and Letting Loose

Thank you to my two new reviewers; InvincibleInuYasha and kalinchan. It's nice to know the story is liked. I know everyone wants to know what I'm planning to do to the Titans, especially BB and Star. Let's just say, lives will be altered permanently. In response to my spelling and grammar, cut me some slack. When you're dyslexic and writing in Notepad (meaning no spellcheck) mistakes happen. I try to catch as many as I can. So unless it's horribly hard to understand and needs clarification, please don't make fun of the retarded kid trying to entertain you. Because I'm much stronger than you. And now that I'm done berating my reviewers (ya know I'm only teasing right?) on with the fic. Hope you enjoy this one too.

Disclaimer: As soon as I get my tax refund I plan on making a bid on the Titans. . . . . .What do you mean I owe the Feds money! Eh, nevermind then I won't own them anytime soon.

Chapter 6

"Rich, since nothing is going down tonight is there a chance we could go out? You went ballistic the other night at the depository and I think you could use a break"  
"For once, I think I will. How about we go to the pool hall? We haven't hussled anyone in a few weeks"  
"Now you're talking. I don't suppose there is any way we could invite Terra and Raven with us"  
"Look, I know you've been following them for 5 months now as Red X, but Jax and Rich have only met them once and passed them a few times. Although . . . . . ." Rich began to rub his chin and look up in thought.  
"It always makes me so fucking nervous when you look like that. I have a 50/50 chance of some kind of grueling training"  
"No, was just thinking that I could plan a little thought in Cy's mind. They will jump at the chance. That work for ya"  
"Dude, if you ever do ditch the superhero bizz and become a criminal mastermind, can I be your number one"  
"So you'd rather work for me than be a partner, huh?" Rich smirked.  
"I figure then you won't kill me to be the soul boss." Jax returned the smirk.  
"Let me send the message to Cy. Then we'll blast over to Shooters. Hell, we might even con them out of cash"  
"Yup, definitely a criminal mastermind."

Back at the Tower, Bumble Bee had stopped by with some parts Cyborg needed.  
"Thanks, Bee. I can finally make sure Blood isn't able to gain control over my systems ever again now. Just gimme a minute." Cyborg inserted the new chip in and closed his chest panel again. Suddenly, a thought came to his mind.  
"Hey, Bee. You wanna go out and shoot some pool"  
"I have no idea where that came from, but it actually sounds like it could be fun. Hey, Rae and Ter! Wanna go with us"  
Terra was flipping through the channels on the TV. "Yeah, will get me outta this place at least"  
Raven was looking out the windows in deep thought. She no longer needed to meditate to control her powers, but that didn't stop her from thinking about things. Especially Ro-, er Nightwing. 'I'll never get used to that name.' "Yeah, I need a major distraction right about now. Where we going, Cy"  
"Place called Shooters. It's a huge pool hall and restaurant. Okay, everyone to the T-car"  
The four Teen Titans went to the garage and piled into the T-car and headed into town.

"Eight-ball, corner pocket"  
"Damn, you suck Rich. That's three straight games. And we've only been here 20 minutes"  
"It's a gift. And speaking of gifts. I believe you owe me 50 bucks." Rich gestured towards the door.  
Just then, Terra and Raven walked through the door followed by Cyborg and Bumble Bee holding hands.  
"Damn, put it on my tab"  
"One day you're gonna have to pay that off you know"  
"Yeah, yeah. C'mon, let's go put the moves on"  
"Shit, you need a pill." Rich followed his hormone driven friend towards the girls.  
Terra and Raven were looking around taking in the place when they heard a voice that sounded familiar somehow.  
"Well, fancy meeting my fiesty blonde babe here"  
Terra looked over to see Jax smiling goofily at her with Rich just to his side.  
"I'm Jax, this is my partner in crime Rich"  
"Decided to get out and shoot some pool, huh? Wanna join us at our table?" Rich asked while looking at Raven. 'Hmmm, she's changed since I've been gone. Kinda miss being around her. Oh well'  
"You two go on ahead, me and Bee are gonna go get some food." Cyborg gently pushed the girls ahead of him.  
"So, you ever shot pool before?" Jax asked while putting his arm around Terra's shoulders.  
"No, we haven't. So you're gonna have to teach us." Terra replied with a slight smile and glint in her eyes.  
"Oh, I think we can handle that. What do you think, Rich"  
"No problem. Go grab a stick you two." Rich couldn't help but notice Raven blush from the innuendo. 'This could be fun'  
"Alright, I'll show you Terra," Jax said. "Hey, Rich. Why don't you show Raven how we play." Both girls blushed lightly.  
"Sure. Come here, Raven." Rich stepped behind her and put his arms around her body to show her how to hold the cue stick. He saw the red enter her face and noticed it was the same for Jax and Terra. He then loudly whispered into her ear. "Now, you just slowly pull it back and aim. Go back and forth a few times to make sure you have your line right. And then, drive it home." The last sentence was emphasized by hitting the cue ball and breaking the table. "Exactly. Now you got it. Terra, go ahead and give it a shot now." 'Heh, I can't believe how red Raven is'  
They played a few games, the boys taking it easy so as not to show off the fact that they were pool sharks to the girls. Then Rich had an impossible shot to win the game. The cue-ball and eight-ball were surrounded by the stripes, unfortunately they were solids this round. Rich looked over to Jax and just smiled slightly and winked. 'Guess we'll show off now.' Rich thought and smirked. Cyborg and Bee joined the group watching to see how he could get out of this one.  
"Eight-ball, corner pocket." Rich said pointing at the obviously blocked shot.  
"Yeah, right. If you make that, I'll give Jax and kiss and Raven will give you one." Terra smirked very confident they wouldn't have to go through with it.  
Raven looked shocked and horrified. Terra then whispered to her, "He'll never make it. Relax. Even if it did, would it be so bad. They're total hunks." Raven blushed a bit then watched to see what Rich would do.  
The boys looked at each other, "DEAL!" They both shouted a little too enthusiastically.  
Rich turned his back to the table then got up on one toe and gently sat on the side of the table. He put the cue stick behind his back and aimed his shot.  
Raven's breath caught in her throat. 'Calling him a hunk was an understatement. That shirt outlines him completely. He's a GOD! I have to stop thinking about him, but I can't. What is it about him that makes me want him so bad'  
Rich took his shot, jumping the cue-ball over the offending striped ones and hitting the eight-ball dropping it into the called pocket. The Titan's all dropped their jaws on the ground. Rich twirled the cue in his hand for a second then pretended to sheath it like a sword.  
"Maybe we should have told them we come here at least three times a week." Jax chuckled.  
"Maybe. Now, what was that about a bet?" Rich teased.  
Terra smiled and walked over to Jax giving him a sweet and innocent kiss on the lips. He sighed and beamed a smile. When she finished she went to hide her blushing face.  
Rich snickered. "That was too short to count. Come on, you can do better"  
"That was perfectly fine and that's all I'm doing!" Terra shouted before hiding her face behind Raven.  
"Not quite," Rich said stepping up to Raven. "This is how it's done right." Rich then put his right hand behind Raven's head and his left on her hip and dipped her while catching her in the kiss. It lasted for only a few seconds but it seemed like an eternity to them. Rich broke the kiss and let her back up. Her knees gave out and Terra had to catch her.  
"That's, how a kiss is supposed to be." Everyone stared with wide eyes at him.  
Raven was in shock. 'Why did he stop? Oh that was so good. Wait, I can't fall head over heels for this guy. What's happening to me? Why do I feel like I know him and that was supposed to happen'  
Jax broke the silence among them. "Uhhh, Rich? Isn't she the one that can throw you into an alternate universe of neverending darkness"  
The realization for this hit home for everyone except the two lovebirds who still looked into each others eyes.  
"Yes she is. But you wouldn't do that to me now would you, Raven?" Rich smirked and put his hands in his pocket.  
Raven just shook her head no.  
The moment was ruined though when Rich's cell phone went off. Looking very pissed at the phone he answered it. "What!" He listened to the conversation for a minute. "Got it. Bye"  
Rich and Jax looked at each other. "C'mon, Jax. Problem at work"  
"Where do you guys work?" Terra asked.  
"We run a private security firm." The well rehearsed lie came off without a hitch from Jax.  
"Yeah, and that call was a problem and we have to run off to save the day as usual." Rich said with a small smirk.  
The boys went and took the girls hand and kissed them, slipping them each a slip of paper with their numbers.  
"Call us sometime and we'll get together." Jax grinned at Terra.  
"Come on, Jax. We gotta hurry"  
The four Teen Titans sat there stunned at the development. Bumble Bee then spoke up first. "So what was that about them not being your boyfriends"  
"Well, they aren't." Terra sheepishly said.  
"Not yet at least." Raven said with a sigh.  
Outside the boys jumped on their bikes and tore off towards The Pit as fast as possible.  
"What's the problem, Rich?" Jax asked through their helmet radios.  
"The gang leader we busted at the gold depository busted out. He's planning to try the heist again. This time there's only gonna be like 20 guys, but they're gonna be a little less lenient with shooting innocent hostages. We gotta move"  
They gunned the throttles on their bikes and headed for their base to change and head out as fast as possible."

The security door was blown off the door with C-4. The ten guards were instantly shaken. Then the men stormed into the depository through the smoke. They opened fire on the unsuspecting security personnel. When the smoke cleared seven lay on the ground wounded while the others surrendered to be tied up.  
"Alright, boys. Let's start moving the gold to the truck." The gang leader ordered.  
"Got it boss." One thug replied while grabbing one of the carts loaded with gold bars. They started carting the gold out but were suddenly knocked back inside the depository by a seemingly unknown force. Nightwing and Red X then decloaked at the door.  
Nightwing and Red X did a vitals scan on the guards and found that four had died and the other three that were shot were gonna join soon if they didn't get medical attention. Nightwing clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. His pulse rocketed.  
"They're dead. Innocent people are DEAD!" He turned to look at X. "The leader is mine. Let's put these dogs down"  
X nodded. The look on Nightwing's face worried him, but he wouldn't dare stop him.  
Nightwing drew his bo staff and flew in. He swung and cracked two of the criminals across their faces sending them flying into the wall out cold. Red X followed. Cracking bone could be heard from every blow to the heads of the criminals. Blood spewed forth from gashes to their skulls or the blows to their faces that broke noses and busted out teeth. Red X took out 7 of the thugs, while Nightwing took out the other 12 leaving only the boss. Red X then gathered up the guards and started helping them out, taking the injured to get help. Meanwhile Nightwing stood before the boss.  
"You won't get the best of me, punk," declared the boss as he assumed a fighting stance.  
Nightwing looked disgusted at the man. "These men had families and you shot them in cold blood. They never stood a chance"  
"Them's the breaks, kid"  
"The name is Nightwing. Remember it well, for it is the name of your messenger of death"  
The boss took a swing a Nightwing. Nightwing caught the fist. The boss threw his other fist with the same result. Nightwing then delivered a heavy metallic boot to the boss' chest. As he staggered back Nightwing flew in with a vicous set of punches to his face.  
The boss wiped his face to try and free it from the blood that was oozing from both his nostrils and his busted lips. He spit out some blood that was pooling in his mouth and stared at the black-clad superhero before him. He resumed his fighting stance and motioned Nightwing over with his hand. Nightwing lunged for him, but the boss pulled out a double-barreled shotgun that he'd sawed off and blasted Nightwing in his chest.  
Nightwing flew across the room and clutched his chest. The pain was immense, but he knew the pellets didn't penetrate the suit. It just bruised his ribs a good bit, and further infuriated him. When the boss looked down to reload, a battle cry ripped through the air. He looked up in time to see Nightwing leaping towards him. The boss swung the shotgun at Nightwing but the hero caught it and then broke the arm. He hit the elbow and destroyed it. The sound of cracking bone and tearing sinew echoed.  
"YOU BASTARD!" The boss screamed out in pain.  
"I'm only getting started," sneered Nightwing. The boss then swung his still unbroken left arm which Nightwing in turn caught it. He smirked and repeated the process of destroying the elbow.  
"AAAAAHHHH!" Again the boss screamed in pain. Nightwing then pulled out his bo staff and extended it. In one fluid motion he brought the staff slamming into the knees of the boss shattering them with a sickening crunching and ripping sound. The criminal fell to the ground in pain. Nightwing retracted his bo staff and put it away, walking towards the door.  
"YOU BASTARD! AHH. . . .GRR. . . .I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL. . .UH . . .KILL. . .AH . . .ALL . . .OF. . .UHN. . .YOU!" The boss screamed at the hero.  
Nightwing glanced over his shoulder at the man sitting on the ground writhing in agony. A look of disgust crossed his face. He flicked his wrist and a bird-a-rang flipped out into his hand. "Why don't you just shut the fuck up already!" Another flick of the wrist and the lethal weapon went sailing through the air in an arc, slicing the boss across the throat and silencing him forever. The bird-a-rang returned to Nightwing's hand and he collapsed the weapon down and put it in his belt. Red X showed up just then and surveyed the scene.  
"Nightwing, what have you done"  
Nightwing turned to face Red X. Red X gasped as he saw the condition of his suit and ran over to his partner. He realized he was gonna be okay but was still concerned. Nightwing began having trouble breathing due to his exertion and bruised ribs. He put his arm over Red X and they began to walk out.  
"My flight is shot, but I can still cloak. Oh shit, the news crews are here"  
"You wanna just take off"  
"No, let them see what we're willing to go through for the city. We'll get more sympathizers that way"  
The news crews came running over with cameras rolling and flashes going off. The heroes stood there obviously victorious but at a heavy cost.  
"Nightwing, Nightwing, are you alright"  
"Yeah, it'll take more than a shotgun to the chest to take me out. Although it won't be much more I don't think." Nightwing smiled slightly despite the pain.  
"What could possibly drive you two to put yourselves through this"  
"Just consider us private security for our fair city," stated Red X.  
"And when we get the call of an emergency we'll be there," Nightwing added his part. "Now if you'll excuse us, I've got some repairs to do on my suit and could definitely use a good nights rest"  
The duo began to move to leave but Nightwing stopped and turned back to the cameras with a look of defeat. "I just want to apologize to the families of the guards we weren't able to save. Our hearts go out to you and we only wish we'd been here faster." They then turned and took off, cloaking once they were in the air.

The Teen Titans were back at the tower watching the news when a special report came on showing the gold depository.  
"That's right, Maria. Nightwing and Red X stopped the gang tonight. Unfortunately, they weren't able to stop the needless loss of the lives of a few of the guards. During the take down, the ringleader of the gang managed to get in a lucky shot with a shotgun to Nightwing, but he still prevailed. The boss however won't be brought to justice as the fight proved to be fierce with only one sure way to win. The pair of heroes had this to say tonight:  
"Nightwing, Nightwing, are you alright"  
"Yeah, it'll take more than a shotgun to the chest to take me out. Although it won't be much more I don't think"  
"What could possibly drive you two to put yourselves through this"  
"Just consider us private security for our fair city"  
"And when we get the call of an emergency we'll be there. Now if you'll excuse us, I've got some repairs to do on my suit and could definitely use a good nights rest"  
"I just want to apologize to the families of the guards we weren't able to save. Our hearts go out to you and we only wish we'd been here faster"  
"As you can see, they regret that they weren't able to get there in time. But they certainly did their best to make up for it by nearly giving their own lives to take down this ruthless criminal scum. Back to you, Maria"  
Raven and Terra looked at each other.  
"Wasn't that kind of what Rich and Jax told us before they left?" Terra asked.  
"I thought it was, but that has to be a coincidence." Raven said, sounding like she was trying to convince herself just as much.  
Cyborg then interrupted the two. "Hey, girls. You should come watch this. It's the surveillance of the crime"  
The three watched as the fight panned out before them. Raven's heart almost broke when she saw Nightwing get shot. But when he stood up and fought even harder it was evident just how powerful he'd become. But what disturbed them the most, was the chilling words he'd spoken before the fight, and then right before he threw the bird-a-rang that slit the boss' throat. The scene caused them to all pale. They stared at the screen. Raven then ran off to her room.  
'Oh, Nightwing. I'm so sorry. Please come back to us. We can save you.' Raven lay on her bed crying when she saw the slip of paper with Rich's phone number on it. 'There's only one way to find out if you are who you say you are.' Raven picked up the paper and levitated the phone over to her.

Jacketslacker: Well, so closes another chapter. How'd it go? Remember to e-mail or R&R so I know if you like how it's going or if I need to change things up a bit. I'm also working on a fic for Inuyasha, so I alternate writing a chapter for it and a chapter for this one. So it might be a bit longer before the next chapter shows up. Hopefully no longer than a week if I can help. Until next time, kiddies. 


	7. Good Ole' Boys

Greetings readers. To start off, I wish to thank Lady of Faerie, Darkness Paine, kylefighter1, and dlsky for reviewing. Basically what was said by Lady is that she found a couple parts of the story funny (the line about Raven tossing Rich into darkness) and liked the pairings and action I had going on. Darkness finds the story and interesting and loves the pairing as well. kylefighter1 wanted to know what would happen if Raven figured it out, if I told you there wouldn't be a point to finishing the story. And lastly we come to dlsky. WOW is all I gotta say. That was a seriously great review. I'll try to keep my head from swelling too much and keep the characters real. Thanks for reading everyone and keep reviewing. Oh, and for those who are interested in my Inuyasha fic it's entitled Crossroads of Betrayal. You may notice, I like the darker side of things and not the standard pairings. I haven't gotten very far for that one yet, so give me some time to get it there. Stay loyal, keep reading, and by all means give me input.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip, zilch.

Chapter 7

Red X and Nightwing landed on the roof of The Pit. Nightwing walked over and unlocked the door, the two men then went to their rooms to change out of their suits. It was decided on the way back from the depository that a night of relaxation was definitely in order. On the way inside the building though, a ring tone could be heard from the kitchen. They stopped by to find the offending object to be Richard Grayson's cell phone. Nightwing looked at the screen to check the number.  
"Damn, I do NOT want to deal with her right now!" Nightwing yelled.  
"Who is it"  
"It's Titans Tower, Raven's extension. I swear, if she's fucking figured out who the hell I am I'm gonna rip her lungs out!" Nightwing screamed while ripping off his mask and slamming it down on the counter.  
'That can't be good for the circuits in that thing.' Red X thought.  
Rich picked up the phone. "Hey, this is Rich"  
'Damn, he goes from threatening to rip her apart to being all peachy in nothing flat. He just removes his mask and magically is back to a normal guy again. I worry about you man.' Thought Red X as he headed for his room to change.  
"Rich, it's Raven.  
"Hey, Raven. Couldn't wait a day to call I see"  
Laughing could be heard through the phone.  
"Laughing. That's a good thing. Otherwise I'm sure I'd be dead from the whole kiss thing. Glad you aren't mad about that. Or us having to run off like that. I'm sure you know how it is when you get a call from work though"  
"Yeah, I do. In fact, that's kinda what I wanted to talk to you about"  
'FUCK! She's got me. Well, let's see what she has to say'  
"You know how Robin hasn't been seen in a while"  
"Yeah, I noticed. He retire or something"  
"Let's just say he left under extreme circumstances. We're convinced he became Nightwing and teamed up with Red X"  
"Hey, they were just on the news. You mean to tell me that Nightwing is Robin? Damn, something serious must have gone down to make him quit and go vigilante like that"  
"Yeah. It's had a definite effect on him. We watched the video feed from the robbery tonight. He was so cold and ruthless. He . . . he killed the leader for the attack. He even got shot, but it looks like his suit saved him. I guess I'm worried that he's crossed the line. I really hate to dump all this on you, I know it's not like we're best friends or anything.  
"But we are friends. So being the good friend I am I'll loan you my ear.  
"Thanks Rich. I'd like to not talk about that though, ya mind?  
"Not at all. So I had a great time tonight, how about you"  
"Definitely. Gotta say, wasn't expecting to get hustled for a kiss.  
"Ha ha. Yeah. It was a good kiss though. I mean, you're a good kisser"  
"Thanks. You weren't bad either. Of course, I don't have a lot of experience with kissing since no one likes to get close to me.  
"Well, I don't have a problem. Unless I do get thrown into a realm of darkness like Jax said.  
"Ya never know, it could happen. But I don't think you need to worry about it too much"  
"So I'm growing on ya, huh"  
"Like a fungus"  
"Would that be foot or another kind"  
"Definitely foot, as low as possible"  
Laughing was heard on both ends of the phone.  
"Raven, you wound me. So, you wanna go out and do something this week"  
"Lemme check the schedule tomorrow morning. If possible, we could maybe do a double date with Jax and Terra if they want"  
"That's cool. I don't think Jax will have a problem with seeing his . . . . what does he call her"  
"Uh, I believe he calls her his fiesty blonde"  
"Oh yeah. Does that mean I can call you my dark girl or something along those lines"  
"No. You may call me Raven. You may sometimes hear someone call me Rae, it's usually Cyborg and he's the only one I let call me that"  
"No pet names or it's the realm of darkness for me, got it. By the way, you're welcome to call anytime you need someone to talk to. If you don't get me just leave a message and I'll return it. And we can hang out sometime. Or you might see me around the city"  
"Thanks, Rich. I'm really glad you came to bug us at the pizza parlor"  
"Don't forget hustling you into a kiss"  
"Trust me, I won't forget that"  
"Glad to know I blew your socks off"  
"My, aren't we just the suave one"  
"If ya got it, flaunt it"  
"Yeah. Well, I'm drained both mentally and physically. I'm gonna go to bed. Ummm, I'll call you tomorrow though. Unless you wanna call me sometime"  
"I would definitely like to call you, except I think that as a superhero you have less time than I do so you'd have a better chance getting a hold of me than I would of you"  
"You're right. Okay, I'll call you then. I'll talk to Terra and we'll work something out"  
"Sounds like a plan. Alright, well goodnight and sweet dreams, Raven.  
"Thanks, you too, Rich"  
Rich plugged his phone into the charger and headed for his room. He brought his chest plate down to the lab and tossed it on the table to fix it later. Then plopped down on the black leather couch to watch some TV with Jax.  
"So, she figure it out"  
"Nah, she just needed someone to talk to. Saw the video of Nightwing and needed a shoulder to cry on"  
"Guess she likes you"  
"Me, or Nightwing"  
"I'd say both. Which is good since you're the same guy"  
"Yeah. Anyways, she's gonna see if Terra wants to go out and we can all double date. You in"  
"You have to ask that question"  
The two smirked and resumed watching the TV for a few hours before heading off to bed.  
Rich couldn't help but wonder. 'I wonder if she likes me or Nightwing more. I know she liked the old Ro- . . . . .' Rich shook his head from that thought. 'Guess we'll just have to play it by ear and see how it goes.' Rich crawled into his black silk sheets and drifted off to dreamless, fitful sleep.

Raven hung up the phone and lay back on her bed. She smiled while she stared up at the ceiling. 'Wow, Rich is such a great guy. I want to get to know him and get close, but I've only just met him. Yet, I feel like I've known him for years. He makes me so comfortable.' Raven sighed and headed out to the kitchen to make some tea.  
Raven saw the light was on and floated in and found Terra pulling out a tub of ice cream from the freezer. Their gazes locked and they both smiled, knowing fully why the other was in the kitchen. Raven went and grabbed a couple spoons for them and sat next to Terra. They started to eat in complete silence. Raven finally broke the calm.  
"I called Rich after watching the video"  
"I almost called Jax, but I'm so nervous. Raven, I think I'm falling for him"  
"Yeah, same thing with me for Rich"  
"We just met these guys, what's going on"  
"I don't know. There's just something about them though. Oh, Rich mentioned going on a double date, just them and us. Interested"  
"You have to ask that question"  
Raven smirked. "Just making sure"  
Terra returned the smirk.  
"I'll call him tomorrow and we'll set up something. How about for tomorrow even?" Raven said with a hint of hope in her voice.  
"Definitely. I wanna spend a lot of time getting to know them"  
"I'll eat to that." The girls giggled as they sat and ate the ice cream while talking about the mysterious young men of their dreams.

Jax staggered into the kitchen and poured himself a giant mug of coffee. He then downed it in as few gulps as he could before refilling the cup and heading for the lab. He knew Rich was up already and had at least 2 pots himself and was sure he was fixing his chest plate. 'Damn, man. You gotta slow down or you're gonna blow a gasket sometime. Like you did last night.' Jax shivered as he thought of how brutally Nightwing had made the boss suffer. He walked into the lab to see Rich putting the final assembly together on his rebuilt chest plate. "So how long you been up"  
"Three hours. Wanted to make sure I was ready to go. Didn't take as much work as I thought"  
"Mmmmm." Jax uttered as his eyes fluttered trying to keep them open. 'Coffee needs to kick in soon.' He thought as he shuffled towards the kitchen to grab some breakfast.  
Just then, both his and Rich's cellphones started ringing. Rich headed towards the kitchen and Jax tossed him his cell. The both answered at the same time.  
"Hello"  
"Uh, Rich. How come I can hear you on my phone"  
"You're asking the wrong guy"  
"It's because you're in a three-way call guys." Came the distincly melodic voice of Terra.  
Jax smiled, "Hey, it's my fiesty blonde earthshaker. What's happening girl"  
"Do you have any idea how many shades of red she just turned"  
"And that would be MY Raven." Rich chimed in.  
"C'mon, Rich, you can do better than that"  
"Not if he wants to live." Raven said deadpan monotone. Terra was having trouble holding the giggles as the two of them toyed with the guys.  
"The reason we called is to kinda ask a favor." Terra started. "We were kinda wondering if you guys would take us on a ride on your motorcycles. We've never been and we want to get out of the city for a while. Figured a long ride with the wind in our hair and all would make our day.  
"Sounds like a plan. When and where you wanna meet?" Rich was hopeful the answer was now but wasn't sure why.  
"How about an hour at the Tower"  
"Hey, my girl can rhyme." Jax beamed.  
"Riiight." Stated both Raven and Rich.  
Everyone laughed at that.  
"Okay, we'll meet you girls in an hour"  
"Great, Rich. See you then." Raven then hung up the phone. The boys looked at each other then took off to their rooms to get ready for the date.  
Rich was the first one down wearing black cargos with a navy blue muscle shirt and a leather jacket. Black hiking boots finished off the rugged look. Jax soon followed wearing the same outfit but in gray cargos and a red shirt. The two grabbed an extra helmet and tuned it to the right frequency so they could all communicate while riding. They jumped on their bikes and took off.  
"So, should we be early, on time, or fashionably late?" Jax asked.  
"With these two, late is not an option. If we're early, they might not be ready and we'd have to spend time at the Tower, which means we might have to deal with people we'd rather not. So, I think on time is best bet"  
"Well, we'll be early right now. Better stop and top-off the tanks before heading over, that will kill some time"  
"Good thinking, Jax. We'll also drive slower than normal"  
"Damn, that could be hard." Both boys laughed at the idea of having to drive slow.

Raven and Terra hung up the phone and sighed in relief. They then looked at each other and then their eyes shot wide. "What am I gonna wear!" They both screamed and took off to their rooms.  
With only minutes to spare, both girls left their rooms and ran to the front door. Terra was wearing a yellow baby tee and capri jeans. Black leather boots and jacket finished off her outfit. Raven opted for a violet long-sleeved shirt and leather pants that showed off her curves along with violet boots and a black leather jacket.  
Rich and Jax pulled up to the tower and got off the bikes. They headed for the door and were about to ring the bell when the door opened and the girls launched themselves at their unsuspecting pray.  
"Gotcha!" The girls yelled but suddenly realized something wasn't right.  
The surprised men reacted automatically as they were pushed backwards. They curled up, bringing their feet towards the center of the intruding mass over them. As they hit their backs they pushed their legs out and flipped the attackers over them and used the momentum to right themselves and assume a fighting stance.  
"Somebody has a death wish." Rich growled.  
"Seriously" said Jax.  
"Ouch, my butt," said the blonde attacker.  
"That realm of darkness is starting to sound really good," came from the violet-haired one.  
The boys looked at each other then at the masses on the ground which sat up and looked at them.  
"OH SHIT!" they screamed and ran over to the girls.  
"Don't sweat it boys, we surprised you. Guess it's good to see you two have some moves if you're in the security biz." Terra said as Jax helped her up dusting herself off.  
"True, but Rich is still visiting that realm of darkness." Raven said in deadpan staring at Rich. She winked and smiled at him and everyone began to laugh.  
They headed for the bikes and put on the helmets, after Rich explained how to strap them on and about the communicators inside them. The boys then took off with the girls gripping onto them for fear of falling off.  
"This is so much fun," Terra remarked.  
"Completely," joined Raven.  
"Wait, don't you girls normally fly anyways?" Rich asked.  
"Yeah, how is riding on a bike any different?" asked Jax.  
"It's hard to explain, just accept that it is," Raven said as she tightened her grip around Rich's chest.  
"Yeah, you guys drive way faster than we fly anyways," Terra said as she held on for her life.  
They continued on their way out of town and into the countryside to escape the city and responsibility they all had. They were all enjoying the closeness and the heat between them as they rode on.  
Raven was enjoying having her arms around Rich. 'I really do like him a lot. I don't know why but I do. But what about Nightwing. I used to think I loved Robin, but now I'm not sure anymore. Nightwing isn't Robin, and Rich isn't either of them. I guess I just worry about Nightwing. It's time to forget that though and just enjoy being with Rich'  
They stopped off at a park and sat down by the lake watching birds fly around.  
"Thanks, you guys." Terra finally broke the silence.  
"For what, cutie?" Jax asked causing Terra to blush.  
"Getting us out of that Tower, taking us on a beautiful ride through the country, and just being great guys in general," Raven answered while blushing.  
"Twas our pleasure, M'Lady," Rich replied while bowing and kissing Raven's hand. This turned her a deeper shade of crimson just as her and Terra's communicators went off.  
"Girls, you need to get back to the city soon as you can. Johnny Rancid just robbed the bank and the cops are chasing him"  
"Cyborg, it's gonna take is at least a half hour until we can get there." Raven said a little worried.  
"Well, it might take that long to catch him so get here fast. Cyborg out"  
"Damn, sorry but we gotta cut the date short guys," Terra said.  
"No problem, and it won't take you 30 minutes, only 10," Rich said with a smirk.  
'That smirk seems familiar.' Thought Raven. "How you planning to do that"  
"Drive hard and fast." Rich said as he got on his bike and started it up. The girls got on and held on tight. The boys looked at each other and nodded then took off fast as possible.  
The blinding speed at which the bikes sped back to the city astounded the girls. True to Rich's word, they were back in the city in 10 minutes and found that Rancid was in a junkyard where Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire were battling him.  
"Here's the drill. We'll give you a small distraction during which you can get off the bikes and hit the guy hard. Keep the helmets for next time." Rich said as they approaced the scene. The girls agreed with the plan.  
"Let's do this, Rich"  
"Right on, Jax"  
The boys came speeding towards Rancid. He stopped fighting the Titans to look at the speeding bikes, as did the Titans themselves. Right before the bikes got to him the suddenly spun around and Terra and raven jumped off tossing their helmets to the side. The spinning bikes now faced away from Rancid. Rich and Jax dropped into first gear and wrenched the grips all the way to spin the tires in the gravel sending it towards rancid at well over 50 mph. This distracted Rancid long enough for the Titans to finish him off.  
"BOOYAH!" Cyborg yelled and then turned to thank the guys.  
"Huh?" was the only sound they made as they looked at twin trenches that were the only evidence the bikes had ever been there.  
"Who the hell were those guys?" Beast Boy asked.  
"Yes, are they your friends of the boy?" Starfire asked.  
The other three Titans glared at the two. "Uh, nevermind. C'mon, Star"  
"So, looks like those two definitely are good at security." Cyborg stated.  
"Yeah, they're one of a kind," Terra said.  
"No one else even close to them," agreed Raven Both Raven and Terra smiled as they thought of their white knights riding off into the sunset on their fiery steeds.

Jacketslacker: Another chapter down. I know, everyone is probably pissed because this one was lame. My only defense is this is needed to show the BIG difference between Rich and Nightwing. The next chapter will be about battle, and nothing but. It's the moment some of you have been waiting for, and some of you are wondering what the hell I could be talking about. Just be patient. Like I said before, the next thing I'm writing is a chapter for my Inuyasha fic. It might be a little while before there's an update, for which I'm truly sorry. It's exam time now is part of the reason. So my time is limited. Other than that, we'll see what this summer holds. If I didn't acknowledge you for reviewing, in either this chapter or previously, I apologize. Drop me a line and I'll correct that problem. Or just review again and I'll say something about it then. I promise though, next chapter will be hardcore fighting all the way. Showing that Nightwing is a total badass and killing isn't something he's afraid of. Until next time, kiddies. 


	8. Ultimate Battle

Another day, another chapter. So let's start out with the thank yous. Kylefighter1; as said previously Slade won't be coming back, sorry. I'm sure it will be alright though. Lady of Faerie; I'm pleased you still enjoy the realm of darkness joke. There won't be much humor in this chapter however. Coldfiredragon; I agree, we need more dark Robin fics. I took special care to make sure Rich/Nightwing were definitely two separate personalities while Jax/Red X are about the same. As per the finding out the secret identities, that's still another chapter or 2 away. However, that Starfire/Nightwing/Beast Boy throw down may happen sooner than ya think. There's also The Desperado; I'm glad the laughing was a good thing. I will continue to keep my work going strong, but only because you insist. Now, onto the fic.

So everyone knows, if you see "" before text that means it's a conversation over phone/communicator. Apparently the phone convo's and stuff were confusing. That's how you know. Thank you.

Disclaimer: Lawyers suck, I hate writing disclaimers. I don't own a thing.

Chapter 8

It had been a few weeks since the Johnny Rancid incident. Other than a few small crimes that Nightwing and Red X handled, nothing big had gone down in the city in a while. The Teen Titans didn't mind, left lots of time off for them. Especially for Raven and Terra to be with Rich and Jax. The two couples had gotten really close in the short amount of time. Tonight found Rich and Jax hanging out with their girls plus Cyborg and Bumble Bee. They were chatting over a pizza.  
"So, how's business going for you guys?" Cyborg asked.  
"Really good, making a lot of progress," Rich replied.  
"A bit on the slow side recently though," Jax added.  
"Isn't that a good thing though?" Bumble Bee asked.  
"Only if we wanna be poor," remarked Rich.  
"At which point our girlfriends would dump us," Jax said with a smirk.  
"Ya got that right, buddy," Terra returned the smirk.  
"You guys could always join us," Raven said with a smile.  
"Join the Teen Titans? I don't think so," Rich said shaking his head. Everyone frowned at him. "We're good, but there's no way we're that good"  
"This is true, Rich. But we do have mad skills," Jax puffed out his chest with that comment.  
"You two are hopeless," Raven said as Rich put his arm around her.  
They continued to talk and joke like they'd known each other for years. It wasn't to last though, as the Titan's communicators suddenly went off. They all flipped them open to reveal Beast Boy.  
"Guys, that giant fight we knew was gonna happen sooner or later is here. Blood is sending everything he's got including himself carrying the kitchen sink towards the Tower. I've contacted the rest of Titans East, they're on the way. Get back here quick.  
"We're on the way," Cyborg said. "Sorry, guys. It's fun to hang out but duty calls"  
"Yeah, that's cool. You all be careful," Jax said.  
"Especially you," Rich said to Raven as he gave her a gentle kiss. "For luck"  
The four Teen Titans took off. Rich and Jax looked at each other, then took off to their bikes and burned out heading back to The Pit.  
"Shit, that wasn't supposed to go down for another couple of days," Rich said as he gunned his bike hard.  
"Blood must have gotten impatient," Jax said.  
"We gotta get to The Pit fast and get over there. Not even all of the Titans combined stand a chance against the coming army. They have no idea"  
"Who's gonna be there"  
"Plasmus, Cinderblock, Overload, Jinx, Gizmo, Mammoth, Brother Blood, and too many of those damn Cyborg wannabes to count"  
"God help them"  
"For their sake, hope so."

Across the bay, Cyborg and the girls had just gotten back to the Tower. Titans East had just gotten there.  
"Cyborg, man are we glad to see you guys," Speedy said.  
"Yeah, this is gonna be one rough fight," Aqualad joined in.  
Mas y Menos zipped into the room and started talking at the same time.  
"Somos espantados." (We're scared)  
Everyone just stared at the small heroes.  
"Los hombres malos son demasiados." (The bad men are too many)  
More staring with additional head scratching.  
"¿Qué es nosotros LOS gonna hacemos?" (What are we gonna do)  
"We gotta learn Spanish or get them some kinda translator," remarked Bumble Bee.  
Suddenly, the alarm went off in the Tower.  
"Alright, they're almost here, everyone outside. It's time to get it on," Cyborg ordered.  
The Teen Titans ran outside to face the oncoming army. They stood outside the Tower awaiting their arrival. In a few minutes, they couldn't believe what was coming.  
"Dude, there has to be over a hundred of those Cyborg clones," Beast Boy said.  
"221 to be exact," drolled Cyborg.  
"Ahh, so good to see you again, Cyborg." Brother Blood said. His eyes suddenly glowed red. "Now it's time to die though. Everyone, ATTACK"  
"Titans, GO!" yelled Cyborg. The ultimate battle had begun.  
Cyborg was trying to fight his way over to Blood. The clones jumped in front of him with their sonic cannons armed and blasted him backwards. He smashed into the side of the Tower leaving an indention before falling to his knees. The clones began to rush him. Cyborg got to his feet and charged his sonic cannon. "I ain't going down that easy." He blasted at them with everything he had taking out a few before the rest made it to him. He knew he was in trouble when he heard three words he thanked God existed.  
"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" The black aura surrounded the clones and destroyed them.  
"Thanks, Rae"  
"Thank me when we live through through this"  
More clones charged but the ground beneath them suddenly swallowed them up. Terra joined now stood by her comrades. "There's too many"  
"Keep fighting. Don't give up." Cybord rallied his friends as they yelled and ran into the frey.  
Bumble Bee was standing with Aqualad and Speedy fighting off more clones.  
Speedy was rapid firing as many arrows as he could. Bumble Bee was blasting them with her electric B's. Aqualad was shorting them out with the water that surrounded the island.  
"Where are they all coming from?" asked Speedy.  
"I dunno, but there's an endless sea of the things." Aquald said.  
"Just keep fighting. We're dwindling them down." ordered Bumble Bee.  
Further away, Starfire and Beast Boy were fairing just as poorly as the rest. Beast Boy was shifting between every animal in his arsenal to attack the hoard of robots. Starfire was shooting eye beams and star bolts as fast as she could.  
"Beast Boy, there are too many of them. What shall we do"  
"Fight harder Star. We have to stop them"  
Cyborg, Raven, and Terra were starting to gain the upper hand, so they thought. Suddenly, Jinx blasted the three of them with a hex blowing them backwards. Mammoth then started to fight hand-to-hand with Cyborg. Jinx kept hexing the girls who were throwing everything they had at her. Because of all the fighting, Cyborg was already fatigued and Mammoth quickly gained the upper hand punching Cyborg unmercilessly. Cyborg was getting dented from all the blows and the ground he kept hitting. "Damn, no amount of buffing is gonna help me after this is over"  
"Especially since you'll be dead." Another vicious blow to Cyborgs face sent him flying through the air again.  
Raven and Terra were suffering the same fate. The hexes were throwing them around, knocking them into each other and the ground.  
"We gotta stop running into each other like this," Terra joked.  
"I'd laugh if it didn't hurt so much," Raven remarked.  
"You haven't seen any pain yet," Jinx said as she threw another volley of hexes towards them.  
As Aqualad was throwing water at the robots, suddenly electricty ran up the water and zapped him. Overload and Gizmo were heading towards them. Speedy started shooting arrows at Overload while Bumble Bee and Aqualad tried attacking Gizmo.  
"Damn, my arrows aren't doing anything to this guy"  
"Hold still you little geek," yelled Bumble Bee.  
"No chance, booger-face"  
"You should always listen to a girls request," shouted Aqualad.  
Speedy then got zapped by Overload causing him to smoke slightly and cringe in pain.  
Bumble Bee got blasted by a laser from Gizmo and Aqualad was tied up by one of his inventions.  
Starfire was fighting alongside Beast Boy when she was suddenly slammed from behind by Cinderblock.  
"Star!" Beast Boy turned around to face Cinderblock when Plasmus hit him with a giant blob of goo. Star rushed to help but just got caught up in the stuff too.  
Cyborg was getting hammered. Finally, Mammoth picked him up and tossed him at the ground by Brother Blood.  
"Well, Cyborg. It appears you weren't much of a challenge for my new criminal syndicate"  
"Go to hell"  
"Sorry, you first." Brother Blood raised his hands and they glowed red as he prepared to thrust them into Cyborg's chest.  
Raven and Terra saw what was about to happen. "NO!" they both screamed as they ran to Cyborg.

"Fuck! We gotta move faster, X"  
"This is as fast as we go, Nightwing. We'll make it. They can hold out until we get there"  
"No, they've gotten soft. They're probably already dead"  
'He has no faith in them. I'm sorry this has happened to you, man,' Red X thought.  
The dark duo flew as fast as they could to the Tower.  
"There it is. We're almost there, Nightwing"  
Just then, they saw Cyborg get tossed in front of Brother Blood. They then heard faintly as the girls screamed and ran to save him.  
"No," Red X said.  
"Stop, dammitt," pleaded Nightwing.  
Their hearts sank as they saw Brother Blood turn on them and hit them full force, propelling them back against some rocks. They lay lifeless on the ground.  
"NOOO!" the boys screamed.  
Nightwing's vision blurred. He wanted revenge. He wanted to taste the blood of his enemies that glistened fresh upon his hands. To be able to watch as their lives drained from them.  
"X, land and use the palm blasters to wipe out all of the robots. You take on Plasmus, Cinderblock, and Overload. I'll handle the H.I.V.E. rejects. Leave Brother Blood to me." Nightwing spoke in a tone of voice that terrified Red X.  
Brother Blood kicked Cyborg so he lay next to the fallen girls. The other Titans ran to join their teammates and prepared for the battle. What happened next, none of them expected.  
Two black-clad figures landed hard in front of them. The held out their arms with their hands open.  
"Suck on this, assholes!" Nightwing yelled as a blue beam of energy shot out of each of his hands destroying the robots in it's path. Metal debris flew in all directions, still glowing hot from the explosive force of the blast.  
"Die!" Red X screamed as red blasts erupted from his palms.  
Raven and Terra awoke as the boys screamed. They watched as they repeatedly fired the weapons destroying all the robots. A mountain of twisted metal surrounded them. The boys then lowered their arms. Nightwing clenched his fists, popping his knucles.  
"Let's fuck them up, X. I want their blood to flow"  
"I'm ready, Nightwing"  
With a battle cry the young heroes took off after their respective targets.

Nightwing charged the three H.I.V.E. agents. Jinx threw hexes at the hero that he easily side-stepped and jumped over.  
"Gonna have to pick it up a bit, little girl," sneered Nightwing.  
Jinx got pissed and started getting sloppy. She wildy threw hexes out at Nightwing not caring who got in her way. She ended up blasting Mammoth by accident sending him flying backwards. "Oops, sorry," she said before getting nailed with a heavy boot to her face sending her to the ground.  
Gizmo saw his chance and swooped in with his robotic wings out and lasers ready. He fired continuous shots at Nightwing, who dodged them with a smirk permanently on his face. "Hold still ya snot-nosed punk"  
"Now where would the fun be in that?" Nightwing jeered. "However, this is getting rather boring. So I think I'll kill you now." Nightwing then disappeared.  
"Huh! Where did that barf-for-brains go? Come out you lo-," Gizmo was cutoff. The Teen Titans looked puzzled at the villain. He just floated there in midair, his jetpack wasn't even running. It was then they noticed that the pack was sparking like it had been damaged. A small trickle of blood began run down an invisible object from Gizmo's stomach. Nightwing then reappeared with his bo staff in his hands. He had extended a blade from the end and shoved it into Gizmo. The two did not move, Nightwing in a fighting stance holding his bo proudly and Gizmo impaled upon the pike-like object. A feral grin adorned Nightwing's face that could only be described as raw pleasure at the torture he was causing. He twisted the staff causing Gizmo to cough up some blood. Nightwing than with a flip of his wrist sent Gizmo flying into a rock head first. The sickening crack of his skull and the snapping of his neck resounded in the ears of the heros watching helplessly.  
"Who's next?" Nightwing motioned with his arms open at Mammoth and Jinx. Mammoth was still a bit dazed from the hexes Jinx hit him with, leaving Jinx for the charge.  
She ran at Nightwing throwing hexes. Rocks blew up all around, sending shrapnel at him with blinding speed. He dodged the larger pieces, while the smaller pebbles ricocheted off his armor. A few pieces managed to give him a few light scratches to his face, further enraging the vigilante. He reached into his belt with both hands pulling out exploding disks. He threw one handful at the pink and black witch. She saw them coming and used her hexes to destroy them before they got close, which was exactly what he wanted. Nightwing then unleased the second wave of disks that flew by her hexes before she could react. Jinx stared wide-eyed as the disks hit her chest, sending her towards the ground. She staggered to her feet just in time to find a metallic fist being driven towards her face. The force of the impact shattered her nose spraying blood from both her nostrils. She tried to scream but the blood poured into her mouth and she only gurgled. The sound was music to Nightwing's ears. He then rapid punched her chest, breaking several ribs, before grabbing her arms and swinging her around to jerkingly let her go. The pop of dislocating shoulders and a blood curdling scream rang out. Tears streamed down her dirt-crusted cheeks as she stood on wobbly legs. Nightwing then appeared behind her with his right arm around her neck in a choke hold.  
"So much pain, it's so delicious," he sneered. "But, like all good things, it must come to an end. Goodbye, Jinx"  
With that said, Nightwing brought his left arm up and reached across her face. He then spun her head sharply to the left. The sickening sound of snapping bone and tearing sinew resounded. Jinx's body jerked before hanging limp in Nightwing's arms. He then dropped her on the ground like a rag doll.  
Mammoth awoke in time to watch her grizzly end. The death of his teammate at the hands of someone so vile yet claiming to fight for good boiled his blood. Mammoth ran full speed at the dark hero, waiting to release his battle cry until the last minute. A sudden scream of rage met Nightwing's ears and he spun around just in time to find a massive and hairy fist hurtling into his chest. The blow landed soundly and forced Nightwing to fly backwards 20 yards. Nightwing did a flip and landed on his feet sliding back a few feet. Mammoth charged again.  
"I'll kill you for that!" Mammoth yelled.  
Nightwing smirked. "Not if I kill you first." He pulled out his bo staff and extended and charged after Mammoth. The two men collided and a flurry of punches and kicks. Mammoth used his immense strength to swing his fists at an impressive speed, only to be blocked by Nightwing's bo staff. Nightwing fought the large, hairy man with a permanent smirk on his face. He was just waiting him out.  
'Keep swinging, neanderthal. You'll get tired long before I do.' Nightwing thought.  
The constant swinging was taking it's toll on Mammoth. He was getting slower, the sweat was running down his face, and he was panting hard. He stopped swinging to catch his breath, just the moment Nightwing was waiting for. It was time to put his plan into action. Nightwing then went on the offensive. He started swinging the staff at Mammoth. His speed and agility quickly gained him the upper hand. Mammoth tried in vain to block. If he put his hands up, Nightwing swung low. Mammoth would block low and find the bo staff screaming towards his skull. Mammoth found himself covered in bruises, his ribs were sore, his eye was swollen, and blood dripped from his nose and mouth. He wasn't at the top of his game.  
"I tire of this. Time to end it." Nightwing said reaching into his belt. He pulled out a small black object and then rushed forward punching Mammoth in the stomach. The blow knocked Mammoth back ten feet and Nightwing jumped back a good twenty feet away himself.  
"That wasn't too strong," Mammoth teased.  
"I wasn't hitting you. I was planting that explosive charge on you"  
Mammoth looked down and saw a small black device clinging to him, with a small red blinking light on it. Mammoth looked over at Nighwing to see him holding another black object in his hand with a glowing red button. A sinister grin crossed Nightwing's face just as he pushed the button. A small charge went off and Mammoth gasped for his last breath of air. Red blood and bits of meat cascaded to the ground in a small cloud. Mammoth then fell to his knees before falling forward into the pool of his own blood.  
"That was fun. What's next on the agenda?" Nightwing remarked.

Red X was having little difficulty with his three. Overload was the first to attack. He tried zapping Red X but he kept side-stepping him at the last minute. Red X pulled out some freeze disks hoping the water in them would make Overload short out. He threw them capturing Overload in a prison of ice. Red X was enjoying his small victory when a blow sent him flying sideways. He used his flight abilities to stabilize himself and realized that it was Cinderblock that hit him.  
'That's just what I need. Time to test out my new cement disks'  
Red X charged his palm blasters and started firing them at Cinderblock. It was the only way to hit him hard enough to get him in a favorable position. The blasts weren't having much effect, except at making Cinderblock more angry. He picked up a large rock and tossed it towards the black and red hero. Red X blasted it with both his blasters disintegrating it into dust, but Cinderblock was right behind it and landed a rock solid punch to the chest of Red X. He flew back and hit against Titans Tower hard, cracking the stone structure before falling to the ground.  
"Right, let's not let him try one again," Red X stated as he got to his feet.  
Cinderblock charged again, but this time Red X reached for his belt and took out the cement disks. He threw them and they contacted with the rock giant exploding into a thick grey paste that instantly hardened. Cinderblock was immobilized. Red X then went for his last opponent, Plasmus.  
'Freeze disks or massive sonic explosion. Let's try palm blasters then the disks,' thought Red X. He charged after Plasmus and began to fire his blasters, but there was a problem. His left blaster was only putting out 75 output and his right was hardly working at all. 'Damn, that blow against the building damaged my suit.' Red X continued to blast Plasmus with his left hand while throwing exploding disks at the creature. He was successfully knocking him back and doing some damage, but the injuries he'd sustained were taking their toll and he needed to end it soon. He reached for his belt and found his last two freeze disks. 'Gotta make these count.' Red X rapid-fired his palm blaster getting Plasmus as small as he possibly could and then thre the disks, freezing the giant walking zit.  
"Oh, thank god that's over," Red X panted as he bent over and put his hands on his knees.  
Brother Blood wasn't about to have any of this, he'd just watched his best students be murdered and his three giants stopped in their tracks. He pressed a small button on his arm and Overload, Cinderblock, and Plasmus combined into their giant form. "Now, the game is upon us," Brother Blood sneered.  
"I can't catch a break," sighed Red X. The large combined creature lunged for Red X. Red X dodged him as best he could before being grabbed by the monster. "Nightwing! Help"  
Nightwing heard his friends cry for help and looked over to see the combined monster hurl Red X into the Tower once again. "No. No more will be hurt unless it is at MY HANDS!" Nightwing screamed as he charged towards the creature. He positioned himself between Red X and the monster. "It's time to turn it up," sneered Nightwing as he reached for his belt buckle and turned the dial. His emblem and all the blue accents on his suit began to glow. A small message inside his mask showed that he'd reached pull power. The monster ran towards the supercharged Nightwing. Nightwing placed his hands in front of himself and braced for the coming blast. He squinted his eyes and unleashed the blast at it. Everyone covered their eyes from the blinding light. Nightwing was slid back slowly as he force of the blast pushed him. The beam died down and there on the ground lay the burnt out chip of Overload, the sleeping human form of Plasmus, and the severely cracked and chipped Cinderblock.  
"It appears I've underestimated you, Titans. Your new friends are quite powerful indeed," remarked Brother Blood.  
"We aren't their friends. Now prepare yourself, Blood. You're about to join your students in Hell," Nightwing said with a feral grin.  
"Another time, Nightwing. It seems you are quite the powerful warrior and I look forward to future battles." A bright flash of light from Brother Blood's eyes blinded everyone allowing him to dissappear.  
"Bastard! He won't get away next time," Nightwing said through gritted teeth. "X, you okay"  
"Yeah, I'm gonna need some help getting back though"  
"Figures," Nightwing mumbled under his breath. "You're so fucking training your ass off when we get back"  
Red X just groaned and looked to the Teen Titans.

The Teen Titans stood staring at the back of the dark vigilante known as Nightwing. The same questions kept rolling through all their minds. How could he kill them like that? Is he really on our side? Do we even stand a chance from stopping him if he isn't? The silence on the island was shattered by a piercing voice.  
"Nightwing, you have returned to us!" screamed the Tamaranian as she flew towards him.  
Nightwing tensed his muscles and clenched his fists. He felt her coming closer to his back. He waited patiently for his prey. She was finally upon him when he spun around and delivered a crushing kick to her face. The attack sent her flying to the side and skidding across the ground leaving a small trench. "Pathetic," Nightwing said in a monotone and manner that would make Slade ashamed.  
"Star!" yelled Beast Boy. "How could you do that, man"  
Nightwing turned to look at the small green hero. "How couldn't I? She was attacking me from behind, it was self-defense." That same town horrified all who listened. "If you weren't so weak you could do something about it. Any animal you can change into, I can counter. I've been training for this fight. The only remote chance you have, is if you can bring out the Beast. Then, and only then, you may stand a chance against me. Your girlfriend however won't be able to save you"  
Beast Boy gritted his teeth and clinched his fists. The anger was building inside him. His girlfriend lay limp on the cold ground, he had to stop Nightwing alone. He knew his friends wouldn't help. He began to see red and felt the transformation he was searching for. A primal roar came from deep within Beast Boy as the green and black Beast came to the surface and he transformed. Drool ran down his chin as he snarled at Nightwing.  
"Ahhh, at last. We can finally battle each other as our most primal selves. Your Beast against my Nightwing"  
The taunting worked exactly as planned. The Beast roared and jumped into the air planning to land on Nightwing. Nightwing just smirked and activated his gauntlets bringing two bird-a-rangs to his hands. He threw them up towards the Beast and went invisible. The weapons sliced the left thigh and right bicep of his opponent deeply. The Beast landed and blood spurted out of the leg wound. He growled in pain and sniffed to try and catch the scent of the invisible opponent. Before he could find it though, a heavy boot plowed into the Beast's nose breaking it and causing the blood to fill it. This meant he wouldn't be using it to find Nightwing.  
Nightwing became visible again behind the Beast and tapped him on the shoulder. As the Beast turned around he met with a crushing punch to his eye followed by a round house kick to the other. The Beast now had trouble seeing. Nightwing pulled out his bo staff and extended it. He charged the Beast and began to swing it forcefully. He was striking at the Beast unmercifully. The bruises were already apparent and the Beast was breathing ragged thanks to a few broken ribs. Nightwing stepped back as the Beast fell down on a knee. Nightwing just smirked and extended the blades on the bo staff.  
"Time to get serious," he sneered and charged again. He swiped at the beast cutting his chest. He brought it back and cut his abdomen. The Beast would swing and Nightwing would use the pole to block then counter by slicing at him with the blades. Cuts covered the Beast and his hair was matted with his blood. He fell to his knees gasping for breath as Nightwing stood unharmed before him. Nightwing grinned a feral grin and laughed. He then drove his knee into the face of the Beast and sent him flying backwards to the ground. He lay unconscious and reverted back to Beast Boy.  
"What a waste of my time. How useless you are to the team. It amazes me that you were part of this team at all. Pathe-," but Nightwing didn't finish as a huge starbolt hit him from behind sending him flying forward. He flipped over and landed, sliding back a few yards and glared at the girl who attacked him.  
"You will not say such hurtful things to him," claimed Starfire as her hands and eyes were glowing green.  
"Well, if it isn't the betraying bitch herself. Attacking from behind, right where that knife would was at too." Nightwing turned the dial on his belt again and powered up. "Let's see who's power is greater"  
"Yes, let us." Starfire then blasted a beam from both her hands and her eyes. Nightwing countered with his own palm blasters and the blinding light from the combined blasts was blinding. It was apparent that Starfire was pouring everything she had into the blast. She began to sweat with concentration.  
"What's the matter? Trying to hard I see." Nightwing jeered at her. The blast center was coming closer to Nightwing. 'Guess it's time to stop playing and take the whore out,' he thought with a smirk. "Voice-command activate," commanded Nightwing. His display showed it was now active. "Initiate turbopower." Upon this command the blue on the suit began to glow a bit brighter and electrical surges ran up and down his body. The Teen Titans stared in horror. They realized that meant he was powering up further. "Try this one out, whore!" Suddenly the beams from his palm blasters tripled and quickly forced the blast center towards Starfire. It overtook her and sent her flying away.  
A battle cry erupted from Nightwing as he plowed forward, his suit still turbocharged, and began to punch and kick the deceiving girl. He grabbed her hair and slung her around, smashing her face into the ground. He followed this with a knee to her back leaning down to whisper in her ear. "I expected more from you, Starfire. You disappoint me. I thought you would be a challenge." She began to retaliate and he jumped away. She stood to face him, hands and eyes once again glowing. "You once told us that rightous fury is what drives your powers. Let me show you how blood rage drives mine!" Nightwing then blasted her again his his palm blasters and as she flew backwards he got behind her and delivered a spinning kick to her back sending her rolling and skipping around the ground.  
"I grow tired of kicking your asses. It's time to rid the world of one more bitch and bastard." Nightwing reached into his belt and pulled out a folded bird-a-rang. He unlocked it revealing blood-stained blades.  
'That's the one he used in the depository,' thought Raven. 'No, don't do it. Please, Nightwing'  
Red X saw this too. 'I gotta stop him'  
Nightwing brought his arm back ready to throw it through the air in an arc to slit both their throats with one swing.  
Raven found her voice at last, "NO! Please don't do it Nightwing. They aren't worth it. They've hurt you, they've hurt us all. We'll kick them out. We'll make them leave the planet. Don't do this, I beg you." Tears streamed down her face.  
Nightwing turned to face her. "Nothing will stop my revenge. Not even you." He then focused on his targes once again.  
Red X switched over to his comlink to talk with Nightwing privately. "Don't do this. Look at Raven." Nightwing looked at her. "Rich, you're hurting her. She loves you, don't do this"  
Nightwing's eyes suddenly went wide. 'What? I'm Nightwing! Who is Rich?' Nightwing dropped the weapon and grabbed his head as pain shot through it making him scream. In a dark place in his mind, the figure calling himself Nightwing stood before a mirror looking at his reflection. A copper and black armor and full face mask stared back at him. He looked down and realized it was really him wearing it. 'What's going on'  
'We need to talk, get X back to The Pit first,' came a voice from behind him. He spun around but could only see a dark outline of a figure.  
'Who are you'  
'Later, your friend and partner needs you right now'  
Nightwing suddenly came back to the real world and picked up the dropped bird-a-rang. He collapsed it and put it back into his belt. He walked over to Red X and picked him up then started flying off towards their base without saying a word.  
The Teen Titans didn't understand what had happend.  
"He stopped," Speedy said.  
"I thought for sure he was gonna kill them," came Aqualad's comment.  
"Si," both Mas y Menos said.  
"I can't believe he did all this," Bumble Bee said as she surveyed the carnage around them.  
"He's gone through hell more times than we can imagine. He's been broken finally. I have a feeling this is mild compared to what he is truly capable of"  
"Poor, Nightwing," Terra said as tears rolled down her cheeks.  
Everyone waited for Raven to comment, but she never did. When they looked, they realized she was gone.

Raven took off shortly after the boys had left. Her powers were almostly completely drained. She was using everything she had to keep up with them as they flew home. 'It's time we talked, Nightwing. I'm gonna bring you back however I can,' she thought as she followed Nightwing with Red X clinging to his shoulders.

Jacketslacker: DAMN! That took a while to write. I won't be updated either story for a while. It's finals week, so this week is off limits for writing and summer is still unknown. I'm hoping to get something up for the Inuyasha story next week sometime. Sorry everyone, I know that sucks. Well, there it was, the ultimate fight scene. Sorry if it sucked. The next chapter will be mainly in the mind of Rich/Nightwing as they come to terms with who they are. That's all. Hope you enjoyed. R&R so I know how it's coming along. Thanks for playing. 


	9. Good versus Evil

Thank you to my loyal reviewers. Let's start with kylefighter1 who reviewed again. Many thanks. Next is The Desperado. I prefer DON'T **_FUCK_** WITH NIGHTWING, but whatever floats your boat. Let's follow that with s0c1ally1n3pt, thanks for the great ego boost. Don't worry, this story will be finished before summer is over. Moving on to Anaxim the Seeker; of course it's bloody and he's killing people, he's lost his grip on sanity. Next is dlsky, another faithful reader. I try to keep the fans happy, as best I can at least. If you liked that vision, wait till you read this chapter. Scotty Boi, I assume you meant gripped because if I'd griped you then you'd have hated the story. Don't worry, I usually type that way too so I can read it. Thanks for the compliments though. Jeff Higgs . . . . . dude I can't believe you used your name for a handle. That's bold. Glad you like the work so far. Finally, there's Lady of Faerie. Mmmmm, Lady of Faerie. Sorry, couldn't help it, another of my loyal fans. Sorry, I couldn't finish them off. I plan to make them suffer instead. Don't worry, all will become clear in the end. Now that I'm done, moving on. It's finally arrived. The moment many of you have been waiting for: Raven confronts Nightwing! Let the chaos (and mild lemon) commence.

Also, gonna have a change of formatting since I'm switching from Notepad to Word. Double spacing is used for basic paragraph separation; quadruple spacing is scene changes. (Note: FF is being retarded so it might take a few days to actually iron out the spacing right. Sorry.)

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

"**Nightwing mental talking"**

"_Rich mental talking"_

Disclaimer: I just got kicked out of my apartment (granted it is school housing and I'm not going to summer but you get the idea) so how could I possibly own Teen Titans.

Chapter 9

'Damn, even injured these guys are fast,' Raven thought. She'd been following them for some time when she realized she was now flying over a deserted warehouse district. 'Typical. We really should have figured out this is where they'd have a base. Well, I guess that's why Robin was always the detective on the team.' She saw them begin to descend towards a particular building. 'Finally, I'm completely out of power after all of that.'

Nightwing helped Red X inside and took him to his room. He helped him out of the suit and got him into bed. Jax was beat up pretty bad, a few bruised ribs and other body parts, but no major breaks. Nightwing then went back downstairs and hung up the Red X suit and began hooking it up for diagnostics. He then returned to his own room, leaving the door wide open as he stood before the mirror in his room. He couldn't shake that vision he'd had during the fight. He was looking at himself in the mirror, but he was wearing Slade's uniform. Behind him in the door was a man standing in the shadows. He couldn't see his face, but he knew him somehow. He wasn't a threat, but his presence would ultimately be his undoing somehow. Nightwing looked to the door in the mirror and his eyes shot wide. He spun around staring at the figure there, expecting it to be the man. What he saw instead made him smirk.

"Well, look what followed me home."

Raven was panting. She was completely exhausted. "Don't flatter yourself. I came to make sure you're alright and to ask if you'll come back. I meant what I said about kicking them out. We need you back. You saw how bad we've gotten without you. Please, Nightwing."

That feral grin crossed his face again. "Now why would I want to give up my freedom as a vigilante and go back to being a goodie-goodie? I can do whatever I want." He took a few steps towards her and she didn't move. He smirked again. "Or do whoever I want." With that he grabbed her arm and tossed her across the room onto his bed. He slammed the door closed and locked it.

Raven jumped off the bed. The sudden movement and lack of much energy instantly made her light-headed, but she was determined to fight back. Nightwing then pounced on her, grabbing her wrists and forcing her back against the wall. He stared at her, the same demonic smile upon his lips as he eyed her in her uniform. It accentuated her curves perfectly. Nightwing made sure to drop some of his mental walls and project some of the images he had of what he wanted to do to her. Raven paled when the images flashed through her mind rapidly.

Nightwing brought his face to the crook of her neck and inhaled deeply. "I love the way you smell, Raven. You're afraid of me. You're terrified because you know that I'm about to have my way with you and you can't stop me." Nightwing then threw her on the bed.

Raven landed on her back and bounced a few times, she tried to sit up but Nightwing was suddenly on top of her. He pinned her wrists together with one hand and flicked his other wrist to release a bird-a-rang into his hand. He began to use the blades to cut at her uniform. He started at her wrists and slowly cut at the material of her sleeves to reveal her creamy arms to him. He let out a growl of approval that made Raven close her eyes and shudder.

Nightwing leaned forward and licked her cheek making her eyes instantly snap open to stare at him. "Just wanted to make sure I had your attention. You can't go to your happy place and avoid what I'm gonna do to you." Again he threw the mental images at her, this time make sure they were even raunchier and a bit more painful and degrading.

Raven began to cry. "Please, don't do this."

"Now Raven. Be realistic. You know you've always liked me. I'm just darker than I was before. Isn't that what you like? The real bad-boy image turns you on doesn't it?" Nightwing smirked. He loved every minute of this. He began to cut the torso of her leotard now. He started at the neck and slowly sliced his way down the center of her breasts. He then used the blades to gently push the material away from his goal. The cold metal gained the reaction he was hoping for as her nipples hardened. "See, you're getting excited already," Nightwing chuckled.

"NO!" Raven screamed at her attacker.

Nightwing frowned and retracted the bird-a-rang into his gauntlet. He then pinched her nipple hard earning a scream from his victim. Her reaction to him made him laugh evilly before locking her eyes with his masked ones. "Just admit you love me and I'll make the pain go away. I'll make you feel good, Raven. Just tell me the truth." He squeezed harder and she winced.

"I . . . . I . . . . I lo-love . . . ." Raven shut her eyes tight as the pain grew.

"TELL ME!" Nightwing demanded. "TELL ME YOU LOVE ME!"

"NO! I love RICH!" Raven finally got out what she was trying to say.

Nightwing froze. 'Rich? Who is Rich? Why does that name seem so familiar?'

A flash of light in his eyes and Nightwing was again looking into the mirror with himself in Slade's uniform. The figure was back in the doorway. Nightwing spun around to look at him.

"**Who the FUCK ARE YOU!"**

The figure stepped into the light. A strong young man with long black hair and blue eyes stood there. _"I'm Rich."_ The blinding light was back and Nightwing found himself staring at the half-naked body of Raven as she cried beneath him. He jumped back across the room like he'd been hit. Raven quickly wrapped her cloak around herself and huddled up in the corner of his bed and the wall.

Nightwing grabbed onto his head. He was having trouble concentrating. There was a voice in his mind yelling at him and he couldn't make it stop.

"_Let her go!"_

Nightwing looked to Raven. She was staring at him. She knew he was fighting inner demons, just like she had done for years until his former self had freed her. "Get out." Nightwing said barely above a whisper.

Raven nodded and headed for the door. As she passed through it and was about to close it she heard a soft voice call to her from somewhere. _"I'm sorry he hurt you, Rae."_ Raven just kept running and left for the Tower.

Nightwing got up and headed over to the phone and made some calls. Next he went to wake Jax up.

"Jax, we gotta leave. We've been compromised."

"Alright. What are we going to do then?"

"You're gonna go to the new base I set up for us. I have to go for a while. You've probably noticed I've gone off the deep end." Jax just nodded at him. "Yeah, well I need to figure some things out. Tell Raven that Rich went to a convention or something. I'll call her from time to time. Leave the Titans a com so that if they need the help of Red X you can go to them. Don't tell them who we are yet. When I come back we'll tell them all."

"Nightwing, what's happened to you man?" Jax asked as he put his hand on Nightwing's shoulder.

"I don't know. Somewhere along the way, I became what I wanted to stop. I'll be back, hopefully for the better. If not, I'm leaving it to you to take command of the combined forces of the Titans to take me down. Promise me, that if this all goes to Hell, you'll be the one to end it all."

Jax swallowed the lump in his throat and grabbed his friends extended hand in a firm grasp. "You have my word, Nightwing."

With that, Nightwing jumped out of the window and out of the lives of Red X and the Teen Titans.

Raven returned to the Tower and ran to her room. The rest of the team was either in the main room or medical wing when she came back and didn't see her. She ran to her bathroom and jumped into the shower. She felt dirty. She sank down in the tub and cried as the water washed away the filth. 'Nightwing, what have you become? You're never coming back are you? I'm sorry we've failed you. I'm sorry I failed you.' Then her mind turned to another. 'Rich. Nightwing only stopped when I told him I loved you. What does it all mean?'

She got dressed and headed to the main room where all the Teen Titans were sitting, including the Titans East. Beast Boy and Starfire were still in the medical wing due to their intense beating from Nightwing.

Cyborg was the first to head over to the dark girl. "Rae, you alright?"

Raven hid under her hood, ashamed to look up into the face of her big brother. "I found where they are stationed. We should go at first light when we're back up and running."

"Alright, let's all get some rest then." Cyborg ordered the heroes who all went separate ways to sleep.

One question burned in all their minds; would they be in for another battle or would they find something else at the location?

The T-car came to a screeching halt in front of the abandoned building.

"Wow, figures this would be a base for those guys," Speedy commented.

"Yeah. Why didn't we think of that?" Aqualad speculated.

"Duh, Robin was the detective not us," Terra snapped at the young men.

The heroes approached the door carefully, all poised for battle.

"Be ready everyone, this place is probably booby-trapped," Cyborg warned. He kicked the door in and the Teen Titans rushed into the waiting clutches of . . . . . nothing. "Okay, thought you said this was their base, Raven?"

"It is, or was, or whatever."

The heroes looked around at the warehouse formerly known by the owners as The Pit, once again it was just an abandoned warehouse. A lone steel table stood under a bare light. They all converged on the table to find a small communicator and a note. Cyborg read it out loud to the rest of the team.

**Teen Titans,**

**As you've noticed, we've left our humble living space for a new location. Apparently one of you followed us home last night. Names have been changed to protect the innocent, but nevaR found us. Nightwing said something is wrong with him, he's gone. I don't know if he's coming back, but he said he had to find himself. If any of you have any idea what he means, fill me in sometime. He said to leave you guys this communicator so that if you ever need my help you can call. Don't overuse it, I'm a busy vigilante. That's all I got, I'll be seeing you around.**

**Studfully yours,**

**Red X**

**p.s. Nightwing said he wanted to apologize to all of you and that you'll be hearing from him sometime soon.**

"Well, I guess that answers that question then," Bumble Bee said.

"Does this mean that we might be getting Robin back?" Speedy questioned.

"I don't think so. Robin is gone for good. I think it means Nightwing is trying to find the path of righteousness once again," Raven said from under her hood as she glanced upstairs towards Nightwing's old room.

"Well, nothing left to do except go back to the Tower then," Cyborg said. He then turned to Titans East, "You all gonna be heading back now?"

"Yeah, Cy. We gotta keep our city safe after all," Bumble Bee said as she grabbed his hand for a moment. The Titans East then headed back home while the Teen Titans headed for the T-car.

"What are we gonna do with those two back in med bay?" Terra asked.

"I dunno, Ter. I really don't know," Cyborg said as he shook his head.

Raven couldn't help but think kicking them off the team might help bring closure to Nightwing and bring him back, but she'd never suggest that to her team. Not yet anyways.

A lone figure flew over the city. Below him was an old circus. He landed and wandered around. "It figures I'd end up back at some place like this." He said to no one. He kept walking in and out of the buildings until he ended up in a mirror maze. "Just what I need," the figure said sarcastically.

Nightwing looked around himself at all the images staring back at him. He suddenly froze staring at the one. It was the Slade uniform again. Nightwing yelled and punched the mirror, shattering image into thousands of pieces.

"_That's not gonna solve this problem,"_ the voice said.

"**Who are you! Why do you keep taunting me!"**

"_We need to talk."_ The blinding light was back and once again Nightwing found himself staring at his Slade-like reflection in the mirror. This time, the mystery figure stood beside him. _"I'm Rich."_

"**But, we're the same. How is this possible?"**

"_We aren't the same. You were created out of revenge. I'm the original personality, the one that became Robin. You were created by my hatred and thirst for vengeance. My time and dealings with Slade added fuel to the burning rage and you were born. We started from the same source, but while I am still the embodiment of all that is good, you are the embodiment of evil."_

"**So, we've got a problem then. Once you put the mask on, I come out. The mask comes off and you're back in control. You can't do this without me though, so getting rid of me isn't an option,"** Nightwing smirked, while the mask staring back at him in the mirror didn't change.

"_That's why we have to work this out. We have to find a way for us to work together. Only then, will we be ready to rejoin the world."_

"**Alright, I'll play along. Let's figure this shit out."**

The blinding light was back and Nightwing found himself standing in a vacant lot. He took off away from the city again.

Raven sat curled up in her room on her bed. She still couldn't forget the things Nightwing had done. She couldn't sleep at all for two nights and it was starting to wear her out. He communicator went off and she picked it up. She flipped it open to see the last person she expected. "What do you want, Nightwing?" the venom in her voice evident.

"Apologizing at this point is fucking useless, I know that. I wanted to tell you that I won't be back until I figure out what's wrong with me. I don't know why I attacked you, and I won't make lame-ass excuses about it either. When I figure everything out, I'll come back and you can kick my ass all you want. I won't stop you or fight back. I deserve whatever you can dish out to me." He lowered his head at this.

"I just want you to stop being so self-destructive. You're better than this. Somewhere inside you, the old you still exists. Bring him back, he'll guide you," Raven said with concern in her voice.

"Yeah, I know Raven. Believe it or not, that's kind of the voice that screamed at me to stop the other night. I don't know why I listened, or why it's even there. I'm glad I did though. I'd have to kill myself if I'd done what I was thinking to you." Nightwing looked back up and Raven had to choke back the tears for him. "Don't you dare cry for me, Raven. I'm not worth your tears. I gotta go now. I'll talk to you another time. I hope one day you'll forgive me. Nightwing, out."

Raven sat there staring at the blank screen. "I do forgive you, Nightwing. I know you aren't yourself. I just hope the Robin inside you is strong enough to reach you in time," she whispered to herself.

In a dark room somewhere in the city, Nightwing sat there holding his old communicator. He walked to his closet and changed. He removed the mask and picked up his cell phone. He plopped down on the bed and dialed a number, then held the phone to his ear and waited for the other end to pick up. 'This is gonna be hard.'

(A/N: the part of dialogue with '' before it will be the person on the other end of the phone while the caller will still use normal quotes and such.)

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rae! It's Rich! How you doing?

"Hey, Rich. I'm alright. You heard the news about our last battle?"

"Yeah, that was pretty intense. Nightwing totally went ballistic out there."

"Yeah, and then Starfire and Beast Boy attacked him too. You know the story behind that, right?"

"It was in the paper. That's harsh. What are y'all gonna do about them?"

"They're being kicked off the team, finally. I can't stand to look at them anymore. As soon as they're healthy enough, they're gonna go back to Starfire's home planet."

"So you're kicking them off the planet too. Of course, from the way the article read I'm not surprised."

"Anyways, how are all the meetings going?"

"Not good, but not bad either. It's one of those delicately balanced things. It's like the battle for good and evil, could tip the scale either way without any notice."

"I miss you a lot."

"I miss you too, dark girl."

"No nicknames, remember."

"Sorry. They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. I say it just makes you more miserable."

"I'll agree to that last part."

"Well, it's getting late, gotta get some sleep for that meeting in the morning. I'm sure you're exhausted after the fighting too.

"You have no idea how worn out I am.

"Get some sleep, Raven."

"I will. Rich, this last battle and some stuff afterwards made me realize something."

"What's that?"

"Promise not to get mad, laugh, or anything?"

"Of course, I'd never do that."

"This is hard for me to say. In fact, I've never actually said it before. So here goes. I . . . . lo- . . . lo-love . . . you."

Rich sat there in silence.

"Please say something, silence is not what I want to hear now." The panic was very clear through the phone.

"I love you too, Raven. I'm sorry I never said it earlier and it took so much pain for us to realize it."

"It's alright. Now we do though. I'll talk to you later, Rich. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Raven. Sweet dreams."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Rich hung up the phone and tossed it onto the end table. He looked over at the suit staring back at him across the room. _"Damn do we have some problems to figure out."_

"**No shit, Sherlock."** The light came back and Nightwing stood across from Rich. Nightwing was still wearing the Slade uniform, but the mask was now on the floor, a sign that they were making progress.

"_So we admitted we love each other. Do you understand now?"_

"**Yeah. I get it."**

"_Good. Now, what do you want to talk about now?"_

"**Slade."**

"_Figures. He's gone. Let it go."_

"**He's come back before. What makes you so sure he won't this time?"**

"_Because that was one of the few times when you came out. It wasn't me that killed him. It was vengeance for all the pain he'd put us through that brought you out to defeat him at last."_

"**Same with Trigon, huh?"**

"_Exactly, except I was still there for that one too. We worked together then to achieve our goal. I needed your strength to keep going after I was beaten so badly. We did it to save Raven from him. Remember how that felt?"_

"**It felt, right. Like it was what I was supposed to do."**

"_That's what we're trying to accomplish here. When we've learned to get rid of this armor you wear and join forces into one being, we'll be ready."_ As Rich said this, he noted that the arms to the uniform Nightwing wore were now in the small pile on the floor and his regular black suit arms were visible.

"**So far, so good then. But this is really wearing me out. Let's get some rest and finish this shit another time."**

"_Deal."_ The light flared again and Rich went to lay down on the bed to sleep a dreamless sleep.

Jacketslacker: So what does everyone think? I thought it showed the duality of Rich and Nightwing as they try to work it out. I think there will be one more of those conversations in the next chapter and then the eventual unveiling to the Titans. Remember to read and review to tell me what you like, don't like, and would like to see. That's all folks.


	10. Fall of a Hero

Ah, yes. Another exciting chapter in the saga of Nightwing and his dark birth. I need a life. Anyways, so many people to thank, so little time. So let's get on with it. From MM (I think) we start off with lyncea; she sent me an e-mail and reviewed on the site as well. I'm glad I kept you so captivated with my story, and yes it definitely makes a nice diversion from finals. She has been added to my list of loyal fans (provided she reviews the new chapter). Next is JebusOfNazareth; I'm glad you forgive me for the Star/BB handling. Considering the requests I've had to kill them it's been a tough call. Last from MM was kalinchan; of course it's weird, I wrote it. If you liked them admitting they love each other, wait until the big reveal. Now onto my FF fans. Leading off is s0c1ally1n3pt; awkward is the definition of teenage life, so it's not really any different with what he did. I made you hate your favorite characters? I ROCK! On to Lady of Faerie; in my previous acknowledgement of you I said 'Mmmmm' in response to you. It was just me being retarded at 4 in the morning (like now) and saying that Lady of Faerie is delicious (so is my Mountain Dew right now). In response to the duality, I live with it everyday so it's easy to write about. Um, yeah. Next is Scotty Boi; no clue what you're talking about with whatever show/movie/comic that is. Sorry, I don't get out much. I'm glad you liked it though, and if you don't like cliffies then you shouldn't be reading fan fiction. Right, sure. Moving on. Kokuryu was next; Nightwing and Highlander together? I want the name of this fic so I can become a fan of yours. Glad you like mine and stay tuned for answers to your questions. Next was dlsky; it's nice to have a loyal fan or dozen like I have. You're one of them. I'm glad you like the Rich/Nightwing struggle. As for how Raven will take it, only two people know that for sure. Raven and me, and I haven't figured out yet how to tell her to react so actually no one knows yet. But enjoy it. Next came kylefighter1; I'm glad you like, I'm glad you like. Now that I'm done taunting you, I'm also pleased to know I kept you on your toes for that chapter and possibly confused the hell out of you. It's a pleasant experience. Last came sesslover101; this reviewer started out with my Inuyasha fic and has been converted to the dark side with Nightwing. Welcome, my young apprentice. Okay, that does it for the brown-nosing of my fans. Now, onto the newest chapter of Nightwing: A Dark Beginning.

Okay, I'll actually tell you where the scene break is so it will help I hope.

"_Example"_-Rich

"**Example"**-Nightwing

Disclaimer: While my version of Nightwing is the coolest ever, I still sadly don't own the Teen Titans.

Chapter 10

"**I can't keep fucking doing this."**

"_You have to."_

"**Why? What good can come of us working together? I'll lose my edge and you'll become dark. You already heard Raven, she loves you. She loves the sweet and honorable you, not the dark and sadistic me."**

"_It's her decision who she loves. If our merging makes her not love me, then so be it. We can't live apart, Nightwing. You know this will kill us."_

"**Yeah, yeah. Quit nagging already."**

"_Anyways, I think Raven isn't being totally honest with herself. I think she says she loves me, but wishes I wasn't quite the good boy I seem to be."_

"**So, then she might be looking for something like both of us combined?"**

"_Yeah. There's only one way to find out though."_

"**I'll make the call."**

The two men looked at each other and nodded. They glanced into the darkness to see the pile of the Slade armor.

"**Guess it's almost time, huh?"**

"_Whether we're ready or not."_

_Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break_

Raven sat in her room staring out the small window. Lightning flashed in the distance. A storm was coming. Normally, Raven would welcome the impending storm, but this one felt like it was bringing with it something more foreboding. She bowed her head and rested her forehead against the cool glass as she closed her eyes. She was lost in thought when her communicator went off, causing the young sorceress to jump and cause a lamp to fly across the room at the offending object. She realized she wasn't under attack and picked up the device.

Raven flipped it open and growled out her response, "This better be really fucking important."

Nightwing had his head down as he looked into the screen, causing nothing but blackness to be seen. He then raised his head to look into the screen. "I wouldn't call if it wasn't."

Raven's breath caught in her throat at the disheveled look of the young vigilante. "Nightwing, are you alright?"

Nightwing noted the concern in her voice. "You know the answer to that. It's been a long couple of weeks, Rae. I need to see you in person, I'm ready to pay for my crime. I just don't want to have to deal with anyone else with this, so name the place and I'll be there."

Raven was unsure of her feelings yet again, it was like Trigon had never been defeated. "Meet me on the roof in 10 minutes."

"Make it 20, I'm a bit further away than normal."

"Alright, see you then. Raven out." Raven sat on her bed and began to watch the clock. 'This is gonna be a long 20 minutes,' she thought.

Raven stood on the darkened rooftop as the wind was picking up. The storm wasn't far away. 'Figures it will hit right when Nightwing gets here. Some irony in that for sure.' As she pondered this she saw a dark figure floating towards the tower. It was Nightwing.

Nightwing landed on the roof and stumbled a bit. Raven couldn't decide if he was tired from the trip or his mental battles. He then began to remove his belt, fear and anger arose in Raven then.

"What the Hell do you think you're doing?" Raven forcefully asked.

Nightwing remained silent as he removed the belt. He then tossed it at the ground at her feet. He then spread his arms out to his side and looked ahead at Raven. Raven's eyes widened when she realized he was offering himself like a human sacrifice.

"Like I promised, I won't fight back. I'm here to pay for my crime. I won't scream so the others won't find us. Do as you will." Nightwing never took his masked eyes from her face.

Raven began to step towards him. She brought herself to stand right before the young man. She stared into his masked eyes. She was trying to reach into his mind but found that his mental walls were up. The only thing she could sense from him was the immense sorrow and regret for his actions. Raven felt her resolve slipping, but quickly tensed up again. She steeled her eyes and glared at him. She then spoke for the first time in several minutes, "Why?"

Nightwing furrowed his brow and looked at her. "What do you mean 'why'?"

Her gaze never wavered. "Why did you do that to me?"

Nightwing's face fell and his shame poured forth for Raven to pick up on. He kept his eyes locked on hers. "Like I said before, no lame excuses. I wanted you. Plain and simple. I was hurting and wanted to feel alive again. I felt like maybe that would make me feel again. All it did was hurt you and push me further into darkness."

"What made you stop then? You could have easily finished."

"You may not believe me, but it was that inner voice you mentioned before. It wasn't Robin, it was . . . . . ."

"It was what?"

"I can't tell you yet, all will be revealed soon though." Nightwing said as he lowered his arms and his gaze. "I hate hurting you like this. You have no idea how much I like you, Rae. I know you love this Rich guy though."

"Well, actually I've been thinking about that a lot. I like him a lot, because he reminds me of the way you used to be. He's wholesome and noble. Everything that did attract me to you as Robin. Now you're dark and cruel. While that does appeal to me too, I can't decide which I like more; his light or your dark." Raven looked down at the ground now.

Nightwing smirked. "Well, it's good to know I'm not the only one with problems. You've fallen for two guys, guess if you could combine the two of us you'd be happy."

Raven looked up into his face. "Yeah, too bad that can't be done. I'd get rid of two problems and gain the perfect guy," she said with a smirk.

"So, are we good?" Nightwing asked hopeful.

Raven nodded. She enveloped his belt in her energy and brought it over to him.

"Guess I'll see you around then. I just need a little more time to myself, then I'll be ready for the world again. Don't worry about when I do come back, cause I won't be fighting as nuts then. It will definitely be as powerful than I was before, but not as deadly." Nightwing said as he buckled his belt. He then extended his hand out to Raven. "Still friends?"

Raven glanced down at the hand, then back up to the face of the owner. She smiled one of her still rare heartfelt smiles and shook his hand. She felt the strength and power he held through the grip and felt herself blush. Before he could notice though, he'd turned around and leapt off the building. He freefell halfway down the building before engaging his flight circuits and flying off, turning in flight to wave and then cloak himself.

Raven sat down on the edge of the tower and watched as he disappeared. The rain began to finally fall then. 'Well, at least he's doing alright now. Meanwhile, I'm still more confused than ever. Why does it suck to be me?'

_Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break_

The next day the Teen Titans were sitting around the tower hanging out. Starfire and Beast Boy were officially kicked off the team. They'd gone out for the afternoon to get some supplies for the trip back to Tamaran. Brother Blood had been pretty quiet lately and only a few of his Cyborg clones were seen around. Red X got called into battle a couple times, but nothing too bad. That was about to change though.

Suddenly red lights flashed and a siren blared. The Titans ran to the monitor to see what the disturbance was.

"That can't be good," Terra remarked.

"Definitely not," said Raven.

"I think I'll call Red X now," Cyborg stated as he pressed a small button on his arm.

The three heroes stared at the screen to see a small army of the Cyborg robots, but they had definitely undergone some modifications. They appeared to be equipped with rocket launchers and more powerful versions of the sonic cannon.

"Alright, nothing to it but to do it," stated Cyborg. "Titans, GO!"

The Titans arrived at the scene a short time later, joined by Red X along the way.

"Well, I didn't think these things could get uglier," Red X joked.

"This isn't the time for that, X," scolded Raven.

"Yes, mother."

"You remind me of my boyfriend, he's an arrogant jerk too," Terra stated with a smirk.

"Focus people, we have a job to do," Cyborg stated as he converted his arm into his sonic cannon.

The clones then charged the young heroes.

Terra's eyes glowed yellow and she tore several pieces of rock from the ground. She threw her arms forward and the rocks flew towards the robots. Several of them slammed into each other, causing a few to explode. Most just flew backwards before getting to their feet. "Not good."

Raven wasn't having any better luck. "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" she yelled as black energy engulfed cars and anything else she could get a hold on. She too threw them at the robots like Terra, much to the same effect. "Uh oh."

Cyborg was blasting the robots with his sonic cannon. It seemed to barely phase them at all. It would hit them, make them slide back a few feet and then they'd regain their footing. "Damn I don't have enough power to do any damage to these things."

Red X found himself in a similar situation. He started with tossing X-blades at the robots. They only bounced off their heavily armored bodies. He switched to the glue mechanism, but they simply blasted that off themselves. Even his palm blasters had hardly any effect on them. "We are so screwed."

The robots gathered and charged the heroes. The Titans stood their ground. The robots suddenly stopped. They then transformed their right arms into sonic cannons like Cyborg and their left arms into rocket launchers. Energy blasts and missiles flew through the air at the targets.

"Titans, MOVE!" yelled Cyborg.

Everyone jumped in a different direction. Cyborg sprinted away as fast as his mechanical legs could move. Red X flew up, dodging and weaving as he went to avoid the attacks. Terra took off on a boulder and used several smaller rocks as cover to deflect the attacks. Raven flew away, using her dark magic as a shield. The heroes were doing all they could to keep from being annihilated. All of them were getting away to regroup, when a barrage of missiles came out of nowhere and stopped them all in their attempts. The group quickly reassembled with their backs to a building as the robots circled around them. Cyborg was limping from one of his legs being damaged. Terra was holding her head from the blow she sustained when she fell. Red X found his armor to be shorting out from some shrapnel imbedded in his suit. Lastly Raven held her left arm with her right fearing it to be broken.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted kids," quirked Red X.

"This can't be the end," replied a teary eyed Terra.

"I'm sorry I failed, y'all," came Cyborg's saddened voice.

"Please, Nightwing. Save us," whispered Raven.

Brother Blood stood behind the sea of robots. "Well, finally I will be rid of the Teen Titans. I must say, you survived longer than I thought you would. I regret that you won't be a student of mine, Cyborg. I do think I found a suitable replacement, in Nightwing. It appears that he has a soft spot for the dark witch in the group. Bring her to me, kill the rest."

One of the robots shot his hand out attached to a cable ready to grab Raven and reel her in like a prize catch. The gaping robotic limb was almost upon the teen when suddenly the tether was severed in a shower of sparks. Everyone, hero and villain alike, looked at the object that had performed this feat. Imbedded in the ground, was a blood covered blue and black bird-a-rang. Nightwing then landed in front of the other heroes and glared at the robots and Brother Blood.

"You can have them over my cold, dead body."

"Easily arranged dear boy. Robots, ATTACK!" commanded Brother Blood. The robots began to charge forward.

"You guys out of commission?" Nightwing asked over his shoulder.

"For now, we just need to catch our breath. Kick ass, Nightwing," voiced Red X

Nightwing smiled at his partner and quickly crossed his arms across his chest. He released a bird-a-rang into each hand, the blue blade began to glow and a red blinking dot was found in the center of the device. Nightwing then extended his arms straight out to his sides, releasing the weapons in mid-arc to fly into the lead robots. The blades surprisingly cut into the armored droids. The blinking dot then became solid red and the bird-a-rangs exploded, the repercussion of the blast took out a total of seven robots. "Not a bad start," quipped Nightwing, "but I'm gonna have to step it up to beat you all alone."

The remaining robots began to unleash the rocket barrage yet again. Nightwing flew off, using his palm blasters in short bursts to destroy the rockets. The robots then switched to their sonic cannons which Nightwing could only dodge around. He continuously threw the synovium charged bird-a-rang bombs at the endless supply of robots. "This is getting me nowhere."

Nightwing was suddenly blindsided by one of the robots and sent flying into the ground. He skidded and tumbled across the asphalt before regaining his footing. 'Thank god for years of tumbling as a trapeze artist and all the abuse of a superhero,' he thought as he caught his breath.

Nightwing then pulled out his bo staff and extended it. He charged at the robots, realizing they couldn't fire upon him if he was close. He swung the staff at a pair and decapitated them. He then extended the blade and pierced the chest plate of another one, rupturing the power core and making it go critical. He flew away just as the robot blew up taking a few others with it. Nightwing then charged again, the robot using it's powerful limbs to block the staff as Nightwing swung. The robot went flying back into two more robots when Nightwing's metallic boot met it's head. An explosive bird-a-rang took them out as easily as the others. A sonic cannon blast sent Nightwing flying into a building, cracking the wall from the force and then falling to the ground with a sickening thud.

"I'm disappointed in you, Nightwing," chided Brother Blood. "You were doing so well against my army before. What happened to that bloodthirsty, heartless vigilante I saw so much potential in?"

"He got queasy at the sight of blood and grew a heart," remarked Nightwing with a smirk as he brought out two more bird-a-rangs. "I'd much rather just have fun roughing up the robots and watch you rot in prison, Blood. Besides," Nightwing said as he glanced back to Raven before looking at Brother Blood again, "I made a promise and I'm still working on my redemption for my acts." Nightwing then charged at the army and threw bird-a-rang after bird-a-rang at them all. He'd managed to get them dwindled down to half the original size, but he was now severely winded.

"Looks like you're tired, dear boy. Too bad my Cyborg drones don't get winded."

"Not good, definitely not good," Nightwing said under his breath.

A fist then rocketed towards the young vigilante and caught him off guard. The impact with his face busted his lip and caused his nose to begin to bleed. A second robot then lunged forward and delivered a series of crushing kicks to his torso. The suit took the brunt of the attack, causing only a few bruised ribs. A third robot came in to deliver a crushing blow to the back of his head. Nightwing's face instantly impacted the ground and his head became very fuzzy. The robot that hit him in the head then grabbed his ankle and flung him down the street into a lamp post. His chest slammed into it hard, this time the armor couldn't handle all of the force and two ribs were broken.

Nightwing gasped for air as his body lay on the ground. He stared ahead to see the robots regrouping. He glanced to the side and saw the Titans back on their feet, they weren't at their best but they'd give their all. 'I can't do this alone. I'm not a loner. I'm a member of a team of crimefighters. Always have been, always will be. I need my partners. I need my _friends_.' While Nightwing was hunched over on the ground, he reached into his belt for a small marble-like object. He then carefully got to his feet and wiped his nose of the blood that clung there, then brought his arm down and threw the pellet. A small, bright light and a cloud of smoke erupted and Nightwing used that opportunity to cloak and fly over to the Titans where he uncloaked and fell to his knees.

"Hey, you alright?" Cyborg asked like a big brother.

"No. Worry about that later though. I can't win alone." Nightwing then looked at the heroes. "I need your help."

"What's the plan?" Terra asked.

"Sonic Boom of biblical proportions," replied Nightwing as he pulled out an explosive disk and a small blue box. "This is a refined synovium enhanced disk and a small battery pack for your sonic cannon, Cy. This will only be good for one shot, and then your cannon will be fried and need to be replaced. We have to get just the right window and need the time to get it though."

"Leave the distractions to us," suggested Raven.

"Yeah, I've got enough juice left for some palm blaster shots at max power." Red X claimed.

"Sounds like a plan then," remarked Cyborg. "You're both honorary Titans now. Ready?"

Nightwing smiled. "Always."

Cyborg converted his arm to his cannon and attached the power unit. His arm instantly began to glow a bright blue and surge with power. "Titans, GO!"

Terra's eyes glowed yellow as she called forth concrete and asphalt and began hurling it towards the robots. Red X blasted away with his blasters. They were trying to corral the robots together in a group while keeping them guessing as to where to attack. Raven then used her powers to surround them in a black force keeping them together as one mass. This was the moment Nightwing had been waiting for.

Nightwing raised his arm across his body, grimacing and gritting his teeth at the intense pain that racked his body from the broken ribs. He squinted his eyes and concentrated, trying to clear his eyes of the haze the pain caused. 'It's the moment of truth. I have to earn my redemption for all of the pain I've caused. I can feel the ribs against my lung. This may very well be my last act as a hero. At least I'll go out with a bang.' Nightwing then flung his arm with all his strength and released the disk on its course. The disk flew in a straight line towards the center of the mass of robots. Cyborg saw it and braced himself then fired his sonic cannon. The force of the synovium powered weapon pushed Cyborg back a few feet. The shock struck the disk and detonated it. The explosion radiated out with incredible force and obliterated the robots. Shrapnel flew in the aftershock of the blast as the heroes shielded their eyes from the brightness. When the light was gone and the smoke cleared, a giant crater was all that remained.

"Well, it appears our new bird has a few more tricks of his sleeve than I previously thought. Until next time, Teen Titans." With that said Brother Blood disappeared in a flash of light.

"Booyah! Great plan. I'm glad you're ba-" Cyborg started as he turned to high-five the dark hero but found him crumpled down on the ground. He began to cough up blood to the horror of the half-machine man. "Oh, God. RAVEN!" Cyborg's scream brought the attention of the others. They saw the dire situation of Nightwing and rushed over.

"He's punctured a lung, I used up all my power in the battle too," Raven said with fear in her voice.

"I can't fly him anywhere either, my suit is shot to hell," replied Red X.

"I have enough energy to get us all back to the Tower on a boulder, I think," Terra said.

"That's our only option then. Get as back as quick as you can, we have to operate fast to save him," ordered Cyborg.

Terra then ripped a large section of the ground up and the entire team flew back to the med wing in the Tower.

_Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break_

Cyborg gently placed the nearly lifeless body of Nightwing on the operating table. Red X dropped the young hero's armor down on the ground as he rushed over to help with the operation. Cyborg took control of the situation.

"Rae, you'll be my main help. You have an extensive knowledge of anatomy. Terra, you'll hand us whatever instruments we require. X you'll help monitor his vitals and keep his anesthetics and pain killers going. Let's do this."

The four heroes began to work on their fallen friend.

It took almost four hours to repair the damage done. Cyborg went to his room to repair himself while Terra and Red X went to the main room to wait. Raven stayed with Nightwing, looking at her hands as she cleaned his blood off them.

Raven sat down by his bed and held his hand. She found herself looking into his face and wondering what color his eyes were. She began to reach up to his face. She had her fingers on the corner of the mask when a robotic hand grasped her forearm. Raven spun around to find Cyborg standing behind her.

"He wears that for a reason, Rae. I want to know what he looks like too, but we have to respect his wishes and wait for him to reveal that when he's ready."

"What if he doesn't wake up? You said his chances are 50/50 that he'll survive," Raven said as she choked back the tears.

"Then it's a secret he'll take to the grave. It might just be to protect us from his past, or a way to hide himself from the world. The eyes are the windows to the soul. It's a way to keep secret the inner workings of his mind. Ya gotta respect that, Rae."

"I do, Cyborg." Cyborg nodded and left the med lab and the doors closed with a swish.

The doors to the med lab suddenly opened and Starfire and Beast Boy ran in.

"Dude, we heard. Is he gonna make it?"

"Don't know. His chances aren't the best," lamented Cyborg.

Starfire didn't try to hide the tears as they freely fell from her eyes. "There may be something I can do."

Raven glared at the redhead. "What more could you possibly do to him?"

"There is a cure on Tamaran that may heal him instantly. I have the components to make it, provided he is strong in will the potion should work."

"Get this straight, you're not gonna poison him with any of your disgusting concoctions. You've done enough damage already. He's in this mess because of what you two have done." Raven spit out.

"Please, Raven, let this be my last act here on Earth. Let me try to save his life. I have already ruined it, let me do this. Please, I beg you."

Raven looked to the young man lying in the bed hooked up to the machines. She glared at the Tamarainian. "If this potion kills him, I'll make sure both your deaths are slow and horrible," promised Raven.

Starfire nodded and Beast Boy followed her to make the remedy.

A short time later, Raven was holding a small glass of putrid smelling liquid. She gingerly helped Nightwing to swallow it. He gagged on it a couple times causing him to cough and worry everyone about opening his wounds. He managed to get the entire glass down and everyone stepped away.

"This may be painful for him, so we must be prepared for the worst," claimed Starfire.

"That would have been nice to know earlier," growled Raven.

The beeping of the heart monitor began to increase. When it hit 120 Nightwing arched his back and grit his teeth. He began to scream through his teeth and Raven tried to hold him down.

Starfire and Beast Boy came over to help but a glare from Raven sent them back across the room.

Raven tried to calm the young vigilante down as he writhed in agony on the metal table. A blood curdling scream escaped his lips and then he fell back down on the bed.

He turned his face to gaze at Raven. He noticed the tears in her eyes and the lines down her face where they'd fallen. "Don't cry, dark girl. I'm just fine." He smiled up at her before passing out.

"He has survived the medicine, he will rest for a few days now. We will be gone by then. Goodbye, former friend Raven." Starfire reluctantly left the room behind Beast Boy.

Raven didn't hear them though, she was only thinking about what Nightwing had said to her. 'Rich calls me dark girl. What does it all mean?' She pulled a chair over to his bed and got comfortable. She was gonna expect an explanation when he woke up.

_Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . Page Break_

Jacketslacker: Hope you all enjoyed. Yes, next chapter will be the big reveal. How will Raven and Terra react? Will Nightwing and Red X get their asses kicked? Tune in next time (who knows then the Hell that will be) to find out. On a side note I have a quick question everyone; are lemons not allowed on FF? I know they are on MM, but I've heard they get deleted off of FF. If this is the case, I may have to change a future chapter more than I want to. Drop me advice on this. Also, drop me advice on the story as well, always looking for feedback.


	11. Identities Revealed

Stan: Oh my God! He wrote another chapter!

Kyle: You Bastard!

Let the thanking of the reviewers begin. From Media Miner: JebusOFNazareth; it's possible I rushed, but I don't think I did. I also never intended on Raven forgiving Rich that easy, as you'll see soon. My music of choice is metal, heavy metal, classic and new rock, and anything else with a hard hitting beat or message to it. White Zombie and Rob Zombie inspired most of my fight scenes. DarkAngelsTears; this story is already rated M so I just have to warn when I finally add one. Thanks for the input though. Lyncea; I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter that much. I saw the image in my head for the roof scene and I knew it would be perfect. I also like the idea of playing on Nightwing being mortal, he could die while most of the others would go untouched by whatever killed him. Keep reading for more suspense and heavy darkness. Also, I will rock the lemon as you said, but I'm not sure if it will be a tender moment or a possible desperation move by Raven to bring Nightwing back to the Titans and her. Finally came kalinchan; I thought the fight scene was essential, and the roof scene was possibly cheesy but set up the road to forgiveness. And the news will be revealed soon. Now, onto the reviews from Fan Fiction. Kylefighter1; I may have made Raven a bit dense accidentally so she doesn't completely figure it out. They say love is blind, I'm going with that defense. BB and Star will return. They just aren't pivotal at the moment. As for whether or not Nightwing and Red X join the Titans, you're right that IS for me to know and you to be tortured over wondering about. Lady of Faerie; I like you and all, but you're getting a little too personal here. I think we should read other people. Okay, enough making fun of you, glad you liked it. The new format is definitely easier for me too. Don't threaten me with a machete, that's Jason's weapon of choice. Get original. Morring Star; don't worry, things will work out somehow. It might not be all mushy and stuff, but it will resolve some issues. S0c1ally1n3pt; I don't even know what you're talking about (and that goes for the MySpace thing too). Interesting idea about the jealousy part, hadn't thought about it. A foursome? Dude that doesn't even work in my weird mind. DLSky; Oh my God! Keep that kind of review up and people won't be able to tell where I end and you begin. I don't even know where to begin. I'll just say thanks for reading and being that interested in the story. I didn't think anyone would read that into my writing, that only I thought it was that deep but I guess I was wrong. Thanks a ton for the glowing review though. The Desperado; Ahhh yes, the reactions. Read on my friend, and don't worry because I like your request for some Terra vs. Red X ass kicking. Lastly was nuttin2dowidit; thanks for reading and I'll continued to keep up the good work so long as you keep up with the reading. Also had a few e-mails sent to me, one was from someone with the address of zerototality who liked my writing and is now a loyal fan like all of you. Another e-mail was sent by Mistress of the Furious Cloak; first off, if you think I'm near the end you're sadly mistaken. I have not yet begun to show the tortured soul of Nightwing or the chaos he will bring. I'd like to know what details you don't like so that maybe I can improve on them. Thanks for reviewing though.

All done with that part, now onto the rest of the story. Enjoy my faithful followers.

Disclaimer: I may be working now, but it's nowhere near enough to buy the Teen Titans. I don't even have the chance to watch the new episodes.

Chapter 11

Rich was flying and running as fast as he could. He'd just revealed the truth to the Titans and he was currently being hunted. He was the fox, and Raven was definitely the hunter on the big horse. The big horse just happened to be a boulder created by Terra which she too sat perched upon. Bumble Bee was the hound as she managed to keep an eye on their elusive prey. Cyborg's triumphant catch phrase of "BOOYAH!" was the trumpet call.

"Why does it suck to be me so much?" wailed Rich as he pulled out another smoke bomb from the Nightwing utility belt and threw it trying to gain some ground. It turned out, that ground was not on his side.

The earth suddenly shot up into a wall faster than Rich could react. Black energy then encased his wrists and ankles and pinned him against the wall.

Raven was stalking towards her prize catch. He would look excellent stuffed and mounted over the fireplace to be sure.

Rich pulled with all his might, but even with all the enhancements of his suit he couldn't pull away. Raven was getting closer.

Raven stood before Rich, a look of pure hatred and anger on her face. She then raised her glowing black hand and thrust it into his chest. He felt no pain. Just as sudden as she'd reached in, Raven retracted her hand, revealing a still beating heart. Her dark powers engulfed the heart and burnt it instantly.

Pure pain raced through Rich's body and he screamed out.

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Nightwing awoke in the recovery room of Titan's Tower. He groaned and grabbed his throbbing head in his hands. 'I'll never watch Indiana Jones again,' he thought. He then got up and started to put his recently repaired armor back on. The door swished open behind him as he finished buckling his belt.

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The Teen Titans were all gathered around in the common room. Red X was still hanging around waiting for his partner to wake up. He was joined by Terra who seemed to get along great with him and couldn't stop remarking about how much he reminded her of Jax. Raven was floating off in the corner reading a particularly thick book hoping it would take her mind off her current situation with feelings for both Rich and Nightwing. Somehow, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde just wasn't doing what she'd hoped. Bumble Bee was rummaging around in the kitchen area looking for a clean cup to get some water, which was about like searching for the Holy Grail itself. The doors to the room opened to reveal a severely pissed off Cyborg venting at an also ticked off Beast Boy and as always a clueless Starfire.

"I can't believe you blew the main engines on the T-ship! It's gonna take me at least a week, probably two, to fix them. Is this some sort of plot to keep you from having to get off the planet?" Cyborg accused the smaller green teen.

"You think I'm capable of planning something like that!" yelled Beast Boy.

Raven chuckled and smirked. "I didn't even have to say anything and Beast Boy demeans himself." This comment went unnoticed as the duo kept yelling at each other, while Starfire calmly tried to get them to stop.

"How the Hell else do you explain what you did during the testing!"

"I said I was sorry that I wasn't paying attention."

"Please, let us not fight. Beast Boy will just try harder next time, Cyborg. I promise."

Cyborg turned towards the Tamarainian princess and inhaled preparing to yell at her when an ear splitting scream echoed through the tower.

Everyone stopped whatever they were doing to look at each other in utter silence and wondering what could have caused such a horrible noise. The heroes backed towards the center of the room and assumed a circular formation with their backs together waiting for the attack. All assumed it had been the battle cry of some maniac who was hell-bent on destroying them.

If you could have seen under the mask of Red X, you'd have seen his eyes open wide with realization. "That was Nightwing!"

"WHAT!" yelled the rest of the group.

"He shouldn't be up yet, even with the help of that potion Starfire gave him," replied Cyborg.

"Yes, the Potion of Restoration should have kept him asleep another day at least," confirmed Starfire.

"Has he ever been known to listen to any of us before?" quirked Raven.

"She's got a point, let's go check on the patient," Terra said.

"Everyone keep up your guard just in case," ordered Bumble Bee.

Beast Boy was the only one not to say anything as he feared for his life. He was hoping that Nightwing wasn't awake and ready to finish what he'd started earlier.

The team slowly made their way to the recovery room. The door hissed open to reveal a fully armored Nightwing with his back to the group.

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Nightwing turned to face the team of superheroes. No one spoke. Blinking eyes met masked ones. The silence was destroying everyone's nerves. It was like being the first to speak would mean ultimate doom and you dared the others to speak first. Finally, Nightwing couldn't take it anymore.

"Ummm, I guess I should thank you for saving my life."

Nodding was the only response he got.

"Riiight. Do you think Red X and I could have a moment to talk about something?"

"Yeah, sure. C'mon guys, let's go wait in the common room," Cyborg began corralling the heroes away while Red X entered the room and locked the door.

"Man, Nightwing. We thought we were gonna lose you there a few times."

"Yeah, I owe you guys."

"Nah, consider it even for saving our bacon from those majorly ugly Cyborg wannabees." Red X beamed at his friend while patting him on the back. "So I take it this little talk is about telling them?"

"Yeah, it's time man. You go first. I don't really know how you're gonna lead into it, but just go ahead and do it."

"Right. Let's get this over with then. Good luck to you."

"Thanks, X. I have a feeling I'm gonna need a lot of it."

The young vigilantes walked out of the recovery room and headed to the main room

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The doors swished open to reveal the two vigilantes. All heads turned towards them. Nightwing and Red X looked at each other, their masks hiding the "Deer-in-headlights-look" they were both sporting with the realization of what they were about to do. They looked back to the group and took a deep breath together. Nightwing turned and walked towards the window while Red X began to speak.

"Okay, so this is how it goes. We haven't been completely honest with you guys about everything. It turns out, that in the line of work we're in that secrets are sometimes a necessity."

"What do you mean?" questioned Terra.

"We're vigilantes; we don't follow the same rules you guys do, not completely anyways." Red X stole a glance towards the back of Nightwing under his skull mask. "The point is, certain aspects of our lives have been kept from you."

"Get to the point man, you're creeping us out!" yelled an impatient Cyborg.

Red X let out a huge sigh and began to undo his mask. With a final sigh and a dropping of his head, he removed it. He slowly raised his head up to look over the crowd of young superheroes before him.

All the heroes gasped as they looked at the face of Jax that was no longer hidden beneath the Red X mask.

"This is what I was hiding."

Silence met the young warrior and he began to fidget.

"I KNEW IT!" Terra suddenly exclaimed. "I always suspected it was you because of how you acted and things you said."

"You know damn well you had no clue," scolded Bumble Bee.

"No, I really thought so. Why do you think I kept comparing Jax and Red X, I wanted one of them to admit it."

"And here I thought you were just so madly in love with me," Jax said with a frown on his face and fake hurt in his voice.

"Well yeah, that too," Terra said with a wink. "Oh, before I forget," she said as she walked over to stand before her boyfriend. She then shocked everyone with slugging him full force with a small but powerful fist. "That's for lying to me your jerk," she spat as she stood over the bewildered Jax. She then reached down and grabbed him by the collar of his armor and brought him to his feet. She then smirked and planted a heated kiss on his lips. "That's for finally telling me the truth." She now smiled and beamed at the young man before her. As she stood there facing Jax, who was completely lost and had no idea where he was anymore, her eyes suddenly widened with a realization. "Hey wait, if Jax is Red X . . . . . . does that make Nightwing . . . . . . ?"

Raven suddenly couldn't breath. 'Oh God! That's it! What he's said to me, what he's done, all of it. He's . . . . . .'

All heads turned towards the dark figure by the window. He reached up to his face to remove the mask that was firmly placed there. He put it in his belt and turned around.

"Yes. It means that Nightwing is really Rich," he said looking into each of the faces. He settled on Raven last, terrified of her reaction.

Slowly, the others turned their gazes towards Raven as well. She just stared wide-eyed at her boyfriend as he stood before them, his hair let down like she'd never seen before. 'So a mask and letting his hair down prevented us from realizing who he was. Damn we're stupid.' Shortly after thinking this, another realization hit her. 'He tried to rape me. My own boyfriend tried to rape me! That BASTARD!' Raven then charged towards the young man. Her eyes were glowing white and her hands were enveloped in her dark energy.

Rich stood there terrified, his recent nightmare was soon to be a reality. He new he should dodge, and that he easily could, but he also knew he deserved whatever she did to him for all his crimes. He had yet to be punished, and his redemption could only be obtained through that and her forgiveness.

Raven swung her balled up fists at Rich. She nailed him with a right-hook. She then countered with a left. She continued to wail on the seemingly unmoving being before her until she was panting from the exertion. Rich stood tall before his attacker, a single line of blood trickling from his lip.

"You bastard," Raven growled.

"I'm the one who told him to stop."

Raven's eyes widened. She remembered that conversation where Nightwing had said a voice told him to stop. It was Rich. He told Nightwing to stop. 'But they're the same person.' Raven stared into Rich's eyes, they betrayed nothing. They only showed his sorrow at hurting her. She then squinted her own eyes at him. "You can't talk like you're two different people. If you did something as Nightwing that means you did it as Rich too! You're just a murderer and an attempted rapist."

Rich bowed his head. "I knew you'd take this hard. I had to hide my identity. I never meant for any of this to happen. Tell me how I can make this right, Raven. Please, I'll do anything you tell me."

Raven glared at him. "Go to Hell. I never want to see you again. You can just die for all I care." The hurt in her voice was evident to all. She then used all her power to send a powerful blast to his chest, sending him flying into the window. He bounced off it as it cracked.

As Rich got to his hands and knees, the bright light flashed in his eyes again. Nightwing stared at Rich. They'd hoped to become one at the point, but Raven did not forgive them so now it was impossible. Worse than that, it had broken Rich.

"_You can take over, Nightwing. I'm done."_ Rich then walked off into the darkness leaving Nightwing alone.

"**I'm sorry Rich. I promise to do my best to make things right somehow. She wants us in Hell, so be it."**

The flash was gone and the floor was now before his eyes. He did not have a name now, he was a nameless creature who did not exist, nothing existed for him anymore. He reached into the belt around his waist and removed a mask. He placed it over his eyes firmly. With the mask in place, a new consciousness came to power. Nightwing was now in control. He stood and looked into the face of the girl he wanted more than anything. "Request granted," Nightwing said in a cold and unfeeling voice.

'What did he mean by that?' Raven questioned mentally. She was further confused when he turned around and blasted out the shattered glass and prepared to take flight.

"Nightwing, where are you going?" Jax asked.

Nightwing looked over his shoulder. "She told me to go to Hell. I said I'd do anything for her." With that he jumped out of the window and flew off, cloaking once away from the tower.

Jax grabbed his mask and was about to put it on. "Guess I've worn out my welcome. If you guys still need help, you know you're welcome to call."

"You don't have to leave, Jax," said Raven. "He's the one who did that to me, only he's not welcome here." She then glanced at Beast Boy and Starfire. "Well, he's one of three people I guess."

"What did he do, Rae?" asked Cyborg.

Raven cringed at the question and hugged herself, she couldn't say it.

"The second thing she accused him of. It happened the night of that big fight when you all came to our base the next day."

Raven quickly turned to glare at Jax for telling them that. "Yeah, and he claimed that as Nightwing he wanted to do it, but Rich kept him from finishing the job. Like he's got a split personality or something," spat Raven.

"He does. When the mask is on, he's Nightwing; a cold and ruthless vigilante who will stop at nothing to punish evil. When his eyes are uncovered, he's Rich; a kind and gentle soul who would do anything to make you happy Raven. I've seen it first hand."

Raven stared at Jax along with everyone else. That was a big bombshell to drop on them.

"Wait, how come he's never gone out as Rich before he became Nightwing? He was always Robin before, never had the double life," interjected Cyborg.

"I don't know, you'd have to ask him that," replied Jax as she sat on the sofa with his head in his hands.

Terra went and sat by him before addressing the group. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, if the team approves I'd like to invite Jax to join the Titans full time. I have a feeling we're gonna need info on Nightwing and his tactics," spoke Cyborg.

"He won't go evil, if that's your worry. I think he's just gone further underground than we were before. He said he was going to Hell, that definitely fits the description," replied Jax.

"So you guys got in pretty deep?" questioned Bumble Bee.

"How do you think we knew everything going on in this city? We're honorary members of a lot of gangs. He went by Night and I was Red, I know it's cheesy but it worked. He was greatly feared and they respected me because I could keep him under control, most of the time. If he's gone under, there's gonna be some serious cleaning going on from the inside."

The Titans listened to what he'd said and let it sink in. Raven began to have second thoughts about her reaction. She just hoped she hadn't created a monster like Beast Boy and Starfire had.

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Nightwing had made it back to his room. He quickly changed out of his uniform and put on his clothes for going underground. It reminded him of the comic book character Blade, all black with metal chest armor and weapons at the ready. He still had his bird-a-rang dispensers on his arms, and his utility belt was different but still heavily loaded with lethal gadgets. The final touch was of course the shades. They'd remain on his face the entire time he was looking for his answers. The one burning question he had was the location of Brother Blood's hideout. If he had to beat it out of every single asshole in the underground syndicate, that only made the deal sweeter. Night walked down to the garage where his regular cycle was, but for this trip he needed the other bike. He removed the cover from his Harley-Davidson he'd done his own work on to make it heavily armored and armed, along with the most powerful engine he could cram into the frame. Yeah, this bike screamed power. Tonight, he was the pale rider riding on his fiery steed, while Hell followed close behind.

He mounted the bike and kick-started it. The beast roared to life and he kicked it into gear. He then twisted the throttle and burned out of the garage. He screamed across the traffic lanes making cars swerve every direction with horns blaring. He blasted down the street heading for the shadier side of town, where the lowlifes could be found without even trying to look. This was his new world. Here he was feared. He was Night, a fierce fighter with a soul as dark as his namesake. If you crossed him, you'd be lucky to ever eat solid foods again. Rumors abound of countless acts of horrid things he'd done during his interrogations. He could only be stopped by his partner, Red. This time though, Night was alone and there would be no Red to save their lives from the tortures that awaited them. Night had to admit, having street cred was essential and appreciated in this line of work.

As he approached the dimly lit streets, terrified men ran further into the shadows. They knew the sound of his ride all too well, and if it was coming then there would be Hell to pay. What made them even more frightened was that Red wasn't with him.

Night pulled up in front of a bar and walked in the door, the loud noises of the room instantly died down. Night smirked evilly. "I have a few questions." At this statement, it was a stampede to leave the small, cramped room. Night pounced on a few people he suspected would have some of the answers. He tied them up and suspended them upside down from the ceiling.

"Okay, first one with all the answers gets to go free, the others are punching bags. Where is Brother Blood's hideout?"

"He moves it around every couple of nights. It's like some mobile-command post or something. He only contacts us when he needs something done. We never know where he is again," one of the criminals quickly rambled on.

"Well, that's not the kind of thing I want to hear, but you did answer first. However you didn't have the right answer." Night smirked and jumped up to deliver a painful roundhouse kick to the man's ribcage that sent him breaking free of his restraints and flying into a wall filled with liquor bottles. "Next question then, who knows where his current hideout is?"

The three remaining criminals stared dumbly at the dark figure before them. Night scowled at them. "You have two seconds before I bash your faces in."

"The docks!"

"The warehouse district!"

"The old subway!"

Each of the figures yelled at the same time. Night let out a growl and gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists. "Fucking useless!" Night then pulled out his bo staff and extended it. "I wonder if there is candy inside." Night mused as he looked at the three human piñatas before him. The men opened their mouths to scream, but the quick swings of a metal pole silenced them. Night unmercifully pounded their chests and faces, leaving them swinging from the impacts with blood trickling down and making sickening dotted lines along the ground as they swayed. Night then noticed the old man who was the bartender, he always had info and would freely give it. "Hey old man, what do you know?"

"I know a lot, youngster. I know that he's currently moving his so called hideout and it's going to be in the old steel mill. He'll be there tomorrow night for sure."

Night walked over to the bar and downed a shot of some unknown substance. It burned going down. 'Must have been really cheap whiskey,' he thought. "Thanks old man."

"No problem sonny."

This comment earned the mean a hard backhand. The elderly bartender looked up from the ground stunned at the young man. "Don't get chummy with me. You might think you're above getting mistreated, but you're scum just like the rest of them. If anyone comes around asking questions about me and what happened tonight, I knocked you out before I asked anything. You don't know a thing, got it old man?" The bartender just nodded while cradling his bruised cheek. Night stormed out of the bar and mounted his bike and took off into the night. 'Well, the night is young and there are so many bad guys out there. It's time to clean up the streets my way.' Night gunned the bike and tore off into the darkness, crime was about to receive a heavy metallic boot to the groin.

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Raven sat atop Titans Tower staring towards the city. She was still letting what Jax had said about Nightwing and Rich sink in. 'How can they be two people? They're the same body!' Then the more intelligent portion of her brain had to put in its two cents. 'Yeah and up until about a year ago you had a different version of you for every emotion running around in your head. Is believing he's got two of him and one is pure while the other is dark so hard? Get a grip.' Raven's eyes snapped wide. 'Okay, I'm talking to myself in my head. The sad part is that there is actually some truth to the other voice. How will I know for sure if it's true or not?' Then that annoying voice of reason spoke up again. 'Easy, make a mirror that's a path to his mind and enter it.' Raven nodded and rushed down the stairs into the main room where everyone else sat.

Raven floated over to Jax, who was dressed in his Red X armor except for his mask which was on a hook near the door ready to be put on when the emergency signs flashed. "Jax, I have to know. Do you think that it could be possible that Rich and Nightwing are two completely different personalities living together in his mind?"

Jax looked up from his hand at the poker game that was going on with a look of confusion. Once he digested the question he shook his head to clear the cobwebs. "Not to make him sound any crazier than he already is, but yeah. That could definitely be a possibility. You thinking it's like you and your emotions used to be?"

Raven shot him a puzzled look. "How did you know about that?"

"You don't hang out with a guy for over half a year and not talk about strategies, pasts, and weaknesses of your potential enemies," Jax said with a shrug.

Raven scowled at the idea of being exploited like that but quickly let the feeling pass. "Yes, I do think that it's similar. In fact, I want to try and create a mirror like mine so we can maybe help him find peace."

Everyone stared at Raven for a while. Cyborg finally broke the silence.

"Uhh, Rae are you sure? I mean you said some pretty harsh things to him, not that he probably didn't deserve them."

"I should have realized his inner turmoil, Cy. He helped me through mine and even stopped it by killing Trigon. I kicked him while he was down. I think I owe him another chance no matter how pissed off it makes me feel."

"What do you need us to do?" asked Terra.

"I'll make the mirror, but I'll need him to touch it and a small amount of his blood for it to work."

"Umm, how fresh does the blood have to be? I know we have some dried stuff around our old base in the training area," Jax said.

"Yeah, and there's some in the fridge in the Medical Bay from when he was still Robin," voiced Cyborg.

"Neither of those will work. He has to pretty much touch the mirror with a bleeding wound kind of thing," Raven clarified.

"Okay, so we find him and hold him down while we prick his finger to touch it to a mirror then," Terra suggested.

"Yeah, that will be easy," smirked Beast Boy from the couch.

"Nobody asked you," snapped Raven.

"Please, former friend Raven. Beast Boy and I would like to help you with this plan to rescue our fallen Robin's mind," responded a hopeful Starfire.

"Fine, you can come too," mumbled Raven.

"Well, if I'm taking you all underground you'll need new outfits. I'm sure we can manage something. The requirements are dark, battle ready, and lethal if need be. Meet back here as soon as possible," commanded Jax as he got up ready to leave for his room. "Oh, by the way," he said as he laid down his cards face up. "Four Aces." He then walked out of the room amongst the shoutings and grumblings from the rest of the players.

A short time later the Titans all returned to find a dark crimson clad young man standing with his back to them. He turned around and the Titans all gasped. It was Jax, dressed up in what looked like clothes out of a dark comic book or something. He was slightly menacing, but the redness of his attire didn't make him seem too over the top. Red, as he was now known in this outfit, regarded the new initiates into the dark world he would soon bring them to. Cyborg had generated a thug look with his image generator; his new look was all black clothes with plenty of gold hanging off. Cyborg commented that he knew it was a stereotype but it would work. Raven had of course gone for the goth look with all black form fitting clothes and high boots. She had a different cape without a hood that was completely black. Terra looked similar to Raven but with a crimson cloak, she thought it was cute that she matched her boyfriend which earned her a growl from the dark figure before them. Bumble Bee opted not to go, mainly because her stuff was back at Titans East. Beast Boy had what looked like a pinstripe suit with matching hat. He looked like a gangster out of some cheesy mafia movie. Last was Starfire, who had managed to find some dark navy clothing, but it was rather skimpy and looked remarkably close to her uniform. Red had to fight to keep from saying she looked like the gangster's floozy.

"Well, guess this is as good as it gets. Alright, Raven teleport us to the location I told you about."

Raven nodded at Red's request and enveloped everyone in her soul self and deposited them right down the street from the bar Night was currently terrifying.

Red saw terrified men running and quickly clothes-lined one of them. The stunned man looked up with rage at his attacker until he realized who it was.

"Oh thank God it's you, Red. Night is in the bar. He wants answers. I think he got a few guys."

Red nodded and the man took off. He gestured with his hand for the heroes to follow him. As they approached the bar a thundering noise could be heard. Red knew it was Night on his bike. The heroes ran into the bar to see the bloody bodies still swinging slightly. This sight did nothing to Red as he headed over to check on the old bartender. The others weren't so lucky.

Starfire shrieked and hid her face in Beast Boy's neck.

Beast Boy covered his mouth and visibly turned even greener than normal somehow.

Cyborg just stared with a wide and unblinking human eye while his robotic one seemed to burn the image into his hard drive for no reason than to make him suffer in the future.

Terra closed her eyes tight and clinched her fists. She kept muttering the word 'eww' over and over again like a mantra.

Raven was the most visibly shaken. She had been standing there wide-eyed as the rest, but the realization that Rich or Nightwing or Night or whatever he was currently known as was doing this because she'd told him to was more than she could handle. She collapsed to the ground as her knees buckled and she hugged herself.

Red didn't give the sight a second thought as he helped the old man up off the ground and over to a chair. Red then handed him a glass of some cheap liquor to help calm his nerves.

Once the man had settled down a bit, Red began his gentle questioning. "What happened here, old timer?"

The old man looked down at the glass in his hand. His mind was haunted with the blow from Night and his haunting words. "I don't know. Night came in, people were running, and I got knocked out. I don't know anything that happened."

Red may not have been trained by Batman, but he knew a lie when he heard it. He also knew that from the way the old man was acting, he wasn't getting anything from him. He looked back over to the human piñatas and the rest of the team. He wasn't surprised to find them as disheveled as they were. Red walked over to a phone under the bar and dialed a number.

A very shaky sounding voice answered the line. "Hello?"

"It's Red. I don't know if you've heard, but Night is loose. Expect a lot of business tonight. Also, send over someone to collect three-" it was then that Red noticed another man crumpled against the far wall "make that four severely injured people. There's also an old man here who might need some minor attention."

"Alright, don't expect much."

"Yeah, I know. But these guys don't exactly have full medical plans. Not to mention hospitals ask too many questions."

"Right. I'll send some men over to collect them. I'll also have some cots set up for the incoming victims of Night's wrath."

"Good."

"Hey, Red. Be careful man, if you can't control him he's dangerous to you too probably."

"I doubt that, but thanks. Bye, doc." Red hung up the phone and walked over to the Titans. "I made a call, someone will take these guys to get help, it won't be the best they could possibly get, but it will probably keep them alive."

The dumbfounded Titans just nodded.

Red sighed. "C'mon, let's get out of here." They walked out of the bar and down the street. "Look guys. He's gone pretty deep. We aren't gonna be able to track him like we could before. No one will tell us where he's going, if he leaves anyone able to tell that is."

The Titans all stood there in silence wondering how much damage one lone vigilante could do in a single night. Little did they know, that this night would prove to be the cities undoing. The Titans had begun to falter, allowing the dark shadow of a bird to raise from the ashes to restore the order.

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Jacketslacker: I know it's been a while, for that I profoundly apologize. I haven't had much time for writing. I hit a snag on my Inuyasha fic, debating if I should give Inuyasha the chance for some kind of transformation like Sess can do or not. Anyways, the point is, I had inspiration to finish another chapter for Nightwing and this is what you got. I don't know when you'll see me again. Nor do I know how many more chapters exist. I do know this, this story could be finished shortly or it could become something bigger. The decision is up to you, the readers. If you want more, then keep reviewing. If you think I suck, I don't care what you think. The point is, show the love and you shall be rewarded. Don't worry, I mentioned there will be a lemon eventually and there will be. Also, if you are a reader of my Inuyasha fic, give me some insight on that little ponderance I had. My thinking is a were-dog kinda thing. Anyways, that's all for now kids. Keep reading and stay in school. Remember, summer jobs suck. Review me and you shall be rewarded with your name engraved into the stone of my next chapter. If you don't review, you shall be hunted down by Lady of Faerie and her machete.


	12. The Journey Continues

Wait a minute. A chapter update only a month after the last one? WHO AM I AND WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MYSELF? . . . . . . . . ahem, right. Getting back to the point, if I had one, this is the part of the chapter where I respond to my reviewers. As always I start off with the ones from Media Miner. First off, I'd just like to protest the management of MM for lumping Teen Titans into the "Non-Anime" category. It means we'll never be able to find decent TT fics ever again. I hate you all and will send my own personal army of Nightwings to punish you. Moving on. Let's get the ball rolling with lyncea; a movie you say . . . . . hmmmm. I could see this turning into a movie, provided the right people were cast of course. I'd definitely be either Rich or Jax, not sure which because they're both modeled after me and my dark side. I'm glad you liked the reveal part. It took a while to come up with just the right way to do it. Don't worry, Rich will come back (sometime) and things will work out (maybe). I plan on playing the darkness card for a few more chapters to come. Keep reading and I hope you enjoy this next chapter. Next was kalinchan; I'm pleased that you too enjoyed the reveal scene and the results of it all. I hope to keep you on your toes for a while too. That's all from MM, next comes Fan Fiction. Leading off is kylefighter1; sorry but Nightwing isn't getting stronger than Rich. Rich has given up the will to live sort of. It means that he's gone to live forever in darkness while Nightwing is free to do whatever he wants. Also, the final battle with Blood is far off man. That would essentially leave me no villains to fight and would end the story. Not a chance. Next was Scotty Boi; yeah I know it took forever but I'm back. I'm glad you liked how the chapter turned out. The Desperado; it seems that you liked my work there. It is indeed the ultimate powder keg, but is it wet dynamite or dry is the true question. Lady of Faerie; umm, glad you enjoyed it. Hope you like this one too. Please don't kill me. Empyreal Melody; holy crap that first word is in my spell check! Learn something new everyday. I'm glad you like the Rich/Nightwing drama. The willingness to do anything including going to Hell is always something I like to toy with. Shows true devotion and that you have the character to do anything you set your mind to. Enjoy. KenshinGal128; it loves you too. Dlsky; yet another long review, I like those. I worked hard on the reveal portion of that chapter. It took me a while just to write such a simple scene really. I have to agree with some of the things you pointed out, which you may see more off in this chapter. You thought I'd have Nightwing kill himself? You must be crazy. Torturing a soul is so much more fulfilling than claiming one. Keep reading to see the torment I'll put him through. ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAtH; I hate trying to type your name. You did that to spite me didn't you? Here's your update, but begging won't work again. Ssgohan79; . . . . . . . . . . you disgust me. You sent me a review for each chapter on the same day telling me you liked it and to update soon. You suck. That's 11 notices all from the same person. You may review each chapter, but not like that. If you're trying to get into the ranks of the others who have been here since the beginning and replying to each chapter, that's not the way to do it. Keep reading and reviewing, but don't do something like that again. If you do, Lady of Faerie will be paying you a visit. Kokuryu; of course she was gonna take it hard. And if you were Rich and just had your ass kicked by your girlfriend and told she wished you were dead wouldn't you take it hard? I wouldn't but that's just me. Lastly we come to Kami-elf; I'm glad you like the story. Nightwing getting Azaran powers? No way in Hell. Sorry but it's not gonna happen. Please keep reading though.

Well that does it. Now onto the next sphincter tightening adventure. (bonus points for whoever can tell me where I got that from) Also, I'm looking for an artist or several of you to help me get some drawings of Nightwing and Red X. I've had a few requests for them but I can't draw to save my life. I'm also looking for some for my Inuyasha fic so just tell me if you're interested and we'll see if we can't work something out. You'll get full credit for doing the drawing and a walk-on roll in the next chapter of the story. Hope to hear from a few of you. Now, without further ado . . . . . . . . . .

Disclaimer: (as they tighten the restraints on the straight-jacket) I'm telling ya, I do own the Teen Titans. I paid for them with magic beans!

**Chapter 12**

Cigarette and cigar smoke permeated the air of the large room. The smell of cheap alcohol abounded. The steady thumping of bass rich music echoed off the walls along with the shouts and whistles of the patrons. The scantily clad or completely nude women dancing throughout the establishment paid no attention to them, unless of course they were holding out money to them. Of course, a few extra bills got you some quality alone time in the back. It was just another typical night in the Cat Call Club; the keyword being 'was'.

The evening was shattered when a dull roaring was heard from outside the heavy wooden doors. The customers and employees, if they could be called that, closest to the door turned to wonder what on Earth could make such a sound. The problem was that this particular sound didn't originate on Earth, it came straight from the fiery pits of the deepest recesses of Hellfire and Damnation itself; and it was getting closer and louder.

The door was suddenly turned into splinters and flying wooden projectiles as a giant black object came screaming through it. The dark object skidded to a halt a few yards into the center of the dance floor, after having knocked down a half dozen scumbags along the way. The dark figure residing atop the black creature began to move as the creature quieted. Once the figure was standing upright, the upset and enraged onlookers suddenly paled with terror. It was Night, which was enough to scare them all shitless. The thought that actually made them lose the control of their bodily functions though, was that there was no sign that Red was anywhere to be found. Night was flying solo tonight, and it was not a good idea to be out at all.

Night grinned evilly with what could only be described as the look the Devil himself would have before collecting the soul of some innocent little girl scout for wanting to sell the most cookies. As the grin turned into a full blown vicious looking smile, even the Devil would have shivered. The music kept blasting out of the speakers, it had a good beat to it. It was the kind of tune he could definitely kick ass to, but it wasn't quite what he was looking for. He could tell everyone was terrified of him, but he wanted more. He walked over to the DJ and pushed him off the booth, all the while with that demented smile on his face. He selected the song he wanted and hit play. If possible, the smile he wore grew in size so that even the Joker would be envious. The thumping stopped while the new song began. Drowning Pool's _Bodies_ began as Night pulled out some brass knuckles from his belt and slipped them onto his fingers. The crowd scattered as he dove off the booth with both fists flying.

The sound of snapping cartilage and breaking bone was heard as the metallic attachments on Night's hands connected with the center of the two rotund and greasy men. The blow sent them flying across the room, as blood and teeth fell from their screaming mouths. They bounced across the floor and slid before coming to a stop and spitting out what was left of their dental work in a sea of blood and spit.

A couple of thugs who were accompanying their fallen friends decided it was a bright idea to attack the figure crouched down on the floor. Night had seen his fair share of idiots in his lifetime, including maniacally laughing ones, but this was just plain suicidal. A lightning fast roundhouse kick was the answer to their charge. It connected with the temple of one of the approaching thugs and the cheek of the other shortly after. The blow was so fast and powerful it made the duo spin in place like a couple of human tops before they finally stopped and collapsed to the ground like a couple of limp noodles.

The song was pounding around the room. A scream in the lyrics was mirrored by a primal roar from Night as he charged into the crowd of seedy characters to weed them out one by one. Night was a dark and ominous cloud that passed quickly throughout the club unleashing lightning fast punches and kicks. In the wake of the storm were bodies covered in bruises, blood, and broken bones. The mangled shapes could have easily passed for what should have been corpses from the lack of movement, but that was only because movement caused pain to burn through their bodies. This didn't prevent them from moaning and crying out in anguish all the same.

In all the ruckus, Night made sure not to harm any of the dancers or the bimbos the crime-bosses had with them. This was because he knew they really didn't have anything to do with this. They were dancing to feed their drug habit or to get money for their pimps. That changed when one of them decided she didn't like the idea of missing her next fix because of some asshole in black. She pulled out a can of pepper spray and landed the stream right in the dark hero's face. It got in his eyes, nose, and even his mouth that was opened in a battle cry. To a normal person, this would have sent them to the ground grabbing their face screaming in a gurgling voice from the pain. Suffice to say, Night wasn't a normal person. You don't work for years with the Batman and then as the leader of the Teen Titans and not get exposed to chemicals, poisons, and abnormal amounts of pain which builds up some major tolerances in your system to the point of being a walking antidote farm for certain things. However, she had still attacked him. And the bitch was going down. Night debated with himself quickly what the best way would be to punish the whore before him. He knew that hitting her with the brass knuckles or his boot would be a bit over the top. Likewise he also knew that she was used to being bitch-slapped and slugged by her pimp. This left one option in his opinion; fight fire with fire. He reached into a compartment on his belt and pulled out a small can that looked strikingly similar to the one she was holding herself and even the stream of liquid he hit her face with looked the same. The difference came in the recipe of the foul substance she was now being hosed with. It was a special blend that he had perfected in his years under the watchful eye of Batman that burned three times worse than normal pepper spray and lingered ten times longer. It wouldn't be flushed out no matter how hard she tried; it was imbedded into the pores of her face and the membranes of her eyes now. Payback sure was a bitch tonight.

As the woman fell to her knees screaming a blood-curdling howl of pain, Night smirked. He glanced around the wrecked club at the devastation he'd caused. It would definitely be shut down for a good long while; if he kept showing up around the area he was certain it would be gone all together. There was no movement left in the room, it was time to move on. Night mounted his motorcycle and fired it up. He kicked it into gear and peeled out of the destroyed club. As he tore down the street, he realized that all the criminals had run home in fear of getting caught. For the first time in probably the history of the underground, it was quiet. This proved to piss Night off as he wasn't done blowing off his pent up aggression yet. Granted, it was shortly after midnight and he'd been at it for almost 5 hours now, but it was too early to turn in yet. There wouldn't be any crime tonight because of his little rampage unless some criminals hadn't heard about him on the loose or they were just really stupid. His earpiece chirped as the police radio relayed the message that Johnny Rancid was loose again and tearing down the streets on his bike with some kind of cement gatling-gun. 'Now that could be promising,' thought Night with a smirk as he sped off towards that section of town. Too bad he was gonna meet up with some of the last people he wanted to deal with right now.

_**Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break**_

Raven had teleported the team back to Titans Tower and they all went separate ways to their rooms. A short time later the group met up again in the main room and crowded onto the couch. Jax stood before them in his Red X armor, minus the ever-important mask, quietly contemplating the aftermath they'd witnessed tonight. He quickly glanced around the room to gauge the different reactions of the team.

Cyborg had his face buried in his hands and slowly shaking his head back and forth.

Starfire had her face firmly planted into Beast Boy's chest as tears slowly leaked from her eyes.

Beast Boy was still fighting back the urge to puke at having seen so much blood and gore that wasn't some fake Hollywood Movie Magic.

Terra had her arm around Raven and was doing her best to comfort the dark girl while still trying to come to terms with the horror show she'd just seen.

Raven just sat there, shoulders slumped over and staring blankly at a spot on the floor. She was in shock from realizing she'd been the cause for such destruction.

Jax turned to face them fully and sighed deeply. "Look guys. I'm really sorry you had to see that. I didn't think he'd start this early, nor did I think it would have been that bad. The one thing that really stumps me though, is why he didn't kill them."

"Because he swore he wouldn't do that again, at least Nightwing promised me that," Raven quietly said without glancing up from the floor.

"When did that happen?" questioned Cyborg. Raven then told them about the night on the roof and the conversation.

"Okay, Jax, you're the expert here; what do we do?" Terra asked.

Jax looked to his new team members and shrugged. "Nothing we can do right now. Just go to bed and tomorrow we'll have to try and figure out how bad the damage was."

The Teen Titans just nodded and walked off towards bed, however sleep wouldn't find them all too quickly tonight.

It was a few hours later, when all had grown quiet in the Tower as the young heroes had finally found a fitful sleep when the alarm went off. Everyone jumped out of bed and rushed to the main room, fearful that Night was the cause.

When they got there, they discovered that Johnny Rancid was the culprit.

"Alright team, let's move out!" commanded Cyborg.

As they ran outside, Raven took to the air in flight followed by Red X. Terra ripped a boulder from the ground and Cyborg caught a ride into the city. Starfire and Beast Boy remained at the Tower watching the news for the impending confrontation between the villain and the heroes, but a third party would also be making an appearance tonight.

_**Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break**_

Johnny Rancid was sitting on his motorcycle currently shooting the police squad cars with his newest toy. A backpack produced an unlimited supply of ultra-quick-drying cement, delivered in little balls in a blinding speed by a gatling-gun. The cops were stuck in their cars or to the ground themselves as they were coated in the rocky substance. All seemed lost, until the Teen Titans showed up to save the day; at least that was the thinking at the time.

Raven was the first to respond to the threat, she surrounded the police in her black aura and with some intense concentration managed to shatter the concrete so they could escape. While the police ran off to find shelter, she landed to catch her breath. The cement was a lot thicker than she figured and took a lot of energy to break. She wasn't paying attention enough though, as Johnny Rancid turned his weapon on the unsuspecting girl and fired. Raven looked up just in time to see the concrete balls coming towards her. A blast of red energy vaporized them however as Red X flew in and used his other palm blaster to fire a small volley of shots towards the criminal.

Johnny Rancid dodged the blasts and looked towards who had fired at him. "Well if it ain't the newest member to the ranks of costumed kids. What's with the mask? You uglier than that Robin dork that went missing all that time ago?"

Red X was mad. He may not have known Rich when he was Robin, but no one insulted his partner like that. He formed X-blades in his hands and began to hurl them. "I'm taking you down, Rancid!"

Johnny Rancid easily took down the flying blades with his gun. Red X was panting from the exertion of throwing so many weapons. Johnny Rancid just smirked, "looks like I get two for the price of one." He then opened fire on the pair of heroes. His attack was halted when the ground suddenly erupted in front of them and blocked the concrete. A shock look crossed the villains face, but that was quickly wiped away when a sonic blast hit him from the side.

Terra and Cyborg touched down by their friends.

"You alright?" asked Terra.

"It's just tiring throwing that much crap at concrete that only swallows everything," replied Red X

"And that concrete is really hard. I used a lot of energy breaking so much of it," panted Raven as she still tried to recover.

"Titans, MOVE!" yelled Cyborg as another shower of concrete headed their way.

The heroes dove out of the way. The began to move around Johnny Rancid and trying to catch him off guard from the side or behind. Red X was throwing X-blades and energy blasts; only to have them turned into rocks or dodged. Cyborg found that his sonic cannon shots were dodged or absorbed by a spray of concrete. Terra was hurling small boulders but they would get coated in the special concrete; the strange chemical composition wouldn't let her control it so it neutralized any attacks. Raven was summoning all her power to pull anything that she could and throw it at Johnny Rancid; again having it coated in concrete like everything else and making it too heavy to control in her weakened state. Johnny Rancid was being attacked from four sides, just as he'd hoped. He pressed a special button on his gun and his pack suddenly blasted solid streams of the concrete out in all directions beside and behind him. The Teen Titans were forced to stand their ground in front of him now. As they regrouped, it was too late. They suddenly found themselves being pelted by the gun and incapacitated.

"Well, looks like I've got you all now," glowed Johnny Rancid. "I'd love for you all to stick around, but you'd only ruin my plans. All I have to do now is cover your faces and you'll suffocate to death." The gun was raised and readied to fire.

Cyborg was staring down the barrel and wishing he'd had just a bit more strength to break free.

Terra was terrified of being stone again, but this time she'd be dead for real.

Red X was beside himself as he realized he wasn't ready to die when he'd only just begun life as a good guy.

Raven sat there in quiet contemplation regretting that she didn't have the power to crack the concrete and that she couldn't tell Nightwing she forgave him.

Off in the distance, a black thundering demon sped towards the cemented road where the battle was taking place. His special shades showed him in magnified view what was about to happen. He raised his left fist and pointed it ahead of him. A single razor-like object shot off of his upper wrist. The blade sped through the air towards the target. Just as Johnny Rancid pulled the trigger on his gun, the blade arrived and severed the hose supplying the gun with the necessary chemicals.

All stood stunned as they looked at the dangling hose that now spewed forth concrete. Johnny Rancid turned off the pack and let it off his back. His eyes followed the path where the blade originated from, as did the eyes of the cemented heroes.

Out of the steam coming from the sewers, a dark shadow slowly approached. He made his entrance from the wispy unknown and came to a stop. Five sets of eyes widened at the sight before them.

"Night," Johnny Rancid spoke. He then surveyed the man on the bike and looked for his partner Red. It was then he realized that Night was alone. "Oh shit," he whispered. Johnny Rancid turned and ran for his bike. He climbed on and started it. He glanced around looking for an escape route. There proved to be only one way out of the area they were in, the street where Night was currently straddling his own motorcycle. In his haste to get rid of the Teen Titans, Johnny Rancid had cemented the entire block off. This did not sit well with the villain as he sneered at his new opponent. He used his legs to back the bike to the opposite side as Night and rested there.

The two stared at each other in determination. Johnny Rancid revved his bike, a low rumble emanating from the machine. Night answered by revving his own bike, causing a loud roar to echo around the vacant streets. The two looked like a couple of old western gun fighters. They stared each other down. They kicked their bikes into gear at the same time and screwed the throttles for all they were worth. Rear tires squealed as they were spun. The two rocketed towards each other in a dangerous game of 'chicken'.

The Teen Titans stared in horror at the sight before them. Surely one of these two would veer off course. Then it became obvious that Night wouldn't do it because he would never shy away from any challenge; and Johnny Rancid was too stupid to do it himself. This was true, both figures knew this, but Johnny Rancid had other plans. As they approached the middle of the intersection with only seconds to spare, he jumped up onto his seat and prepared to jump over the head of Night. He leaped just before impact, but the blow never came. Night had known this would happen, so at the last minute he pulled back on his handle bars thus popping a wheelie. While he had the front wheel airborne, he engaged a button on the handlebars and small rockets fired on the rear of the bike. This propelled his ride over Johnny Rancid's bike, and right into Johnny Rancid himself knocking the wind out of him. Night sailed over the speeding bike and landed easily, then applied his brakes hard making Johnny Rancid fly off and roll across the ground.

Night flipped out his kick-stand and leaned the bike down on it. He walked over to the limp and groaning body of Johnny Rancid. "This is my town, Rancid. You should know that I don't pull my punches."

The Teen Titans couldn't hear what was being said, but they did see when Night reached into his coat and pulled out a shiny object. Terror gripped them all as the dark figure knelt over his prey. To their horror, he grabbed his arm and attached something to it, then shoved the arm behind his back and brought the other arm to join the first. The group of heroes collectively sighed when they realized Night had just handcuffed Johnny Rancid. Night then walked back to his bike and kicked it alive. He slowly made his way over to the stuck teens. He slowed to a stop and narrowed his gaze at them. He reached back into his coat and the Teen Titans flinched. He produced a small sphere and smirked. "You kids shouldn't be sticking around rough neighborhoods like this." He then pressed a button on the sphere and dropped it among them and sped off.

The Teen Titans all regarded the beeping object with wide eyes then turned to look at the retreating form of the dark figure.

"Night!" called Red X

"Please stop!" begged Raven.

"Awww, man!" panicked Cyborg.

"You suck!" screamed Terra.

The device stopped beeping and the heroes held their breath. A small shockwave erupted and they suddenly found themselves free from their concrete tomb.

"Oh, right. That was a shock bomb," Red X said while rubbing the back of his head.

The other Teen Titans glared at him.

"You could have mentioned that when we were all panicking," grumbled Cyborg.

"When we get home, I'm not making out with you for a week for scaring me like that," declared Terra as she squinted her eyes and poked Red X in the chest.

"Aww, c'mon. I didn't realize it was a shock bomb. Please forgive me? Baby come back . . . . . ." the begging hero faded as he walked off behind his girlfriend.

Cyborg went over to Raven and put his hand on her shoulder. "At least he's alright, Rae. In a few days I'll have X take you and Terra back underground to see what you can dig up. Let's go home and rest for now."

Raven turned and looked up at her big brother. "Thanks, Cy. I don't know how I'd make it through this without my friends. Sleep sounds really good right now too." Raven surrounded herself and Cyborg in her soul-self and the black raven flew back towards the tower. They were joined by an upset Terra perched atop her boulder with arms crossed and a grumbling Red X who was flying backwards with his back to Terra mumbling about 'being sorry' and 'not being an idiot'.

It would have been comical to most watching, but the blue eyes hidden behind dark shades had no joy in them. The dark figure watched the heroes leave and then left towards his own run down apartment to rest up for the following night.

_**Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break**_

The next day proved to be very uneventful for the Teen Titans. No criminals had attempted to do anything. Apparently Night's little party had forced all the criminals, even the severely hardened ones, to consider going to church to pray for forgiveness. They spent the day moping around in different ways. Beast Boy and Starfire were helping Cyborg work on the T-ship, which was working on the hybrid teen's very last nerve. Jax was trying everything he could to get his girlfriend to speak to him, finally wearing her down with a promise of personal servant for two weeks. Terra cheered for this and then ordered him to immediately make lunch for everyone from scratch. Raven was watching the antics of the couple with a heavy heart. She cradled the mirror she'd made for Rich against her chest as she turned her gaze out the window towards the setting sun over the city. She hoped Night would be safe.

As the sun began to set and day turned to night, a nameless figure turned to Night as well. He opened the window and descended the fire escape to his waiting motorcycle. He sped off towards the old steel mill where hopefully Brother Blood was setting up his base for the time being. Night knew it was a suicide mission to take on Brother Blood in his own base head on. It was a good thing he didn't have any intentions on doing that. Intelligence was the purpose of tonight's mission. All he had to do was sneak in and plant some bugs in strategic places and tap into a computer or two and he'd be out of there. No muss, no fuss.

He arrived a short time later and using every bit of stealth and cunning he'd honed under Batman, he snuck in like a ninja. He climbed a drain spout outside to gain access to the roof. He quickly ran across to an open roof panel. He peeked over the edge and attached a grapple hook. He lowered himself rapidly to scaffolding in the ceiling and began to make his way to where he could hear voices and see light. Using some metal crates for cover, Night began to run around behind the backs of the robotic guards planting the bugs. He planted sound and video on a few of the guards and some of the equipment. He found the main computer he was looking for and managed to get behind it. He tapped into it by clipping onto a couple wires and a circuit board and then was ready to leave. Unfortunately for Night, this was the time Brother Blood decided to walk into the area.

"Well, I'm glad to see that my favorite students are fully recovered. I didn't notice any problems today during your practice sessions. After a few days rest you'll be ready to go after the Teen Titans once again," boasted Brother Blood.

'What the Hell is he talking about? What students?' thought Night. He slowly peered around the corner of the computer he was crouched behind to see the last people he'd expect. There before him, stood what should have been corpses that he himself killed. Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo were standing before Brother Blood.

"Yeah, good thing you had that nanotechnology put into us before the fight. It was barely able to keep us alive as it was though," grimaced Jinx as she rubbed her neck with the memory of having it snapped.

"You shouldn't doubt that it would work. I built it myself," sneered Gizmo as he scratched at his chest.

"So long as I get another chance at that Nightwing I've got no problems," growled Mammoth as he held his stomach.

"In good time, my pupils. Now let us rest this evening." With that said, Brother Blood ushered the students out of the room and followed them out.

Night took that as his cue and snuck out of the mill the way he'd gotten in. He made it to his bike and took off back to the apartment. 'Damn, I go through all the trouble of making sure those scumbags never come back and here they are. Doesn't anyone just die and stay gone anymore? Well, in a way I guess it's not a bad thing. That was the same night that caused so much trouble in the first place,' thought Night as he remembered back to the battle that took place and his actions afterwards back at The Pit. 'I'm so sorry Raven. I hope I'm doing what will make you happy.'

Night got back to his apartment and saw his phone blinking. He picked it up to play the message. Night couldn't help but to chuckle and smirk at the message he'd received. Night hit his speed dial and waited for the person at the other end to pick up. "I got your message. I've got some stuff I think you'll find interesting. Don't worry about the place to meet, just make sure to be in the area and I'll steer you in the right direction. Later." Night then went over to his laptop and hacked into Brother Blood's computers to download some info for the next night and his rendezvous.

_**Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . . Page Break**_

The following night found Red leading Terra and Raven through the underworld he'd grown accustomed to. The girls were still a little bit uneasy about the whole place. Red felt the need to reassure them though. "Looks like things are a bit quieter than normal."

"You mean things are normally worse than this? These guys are getting into fights and selling weapons and drugs, what could be worse?" questioned Terra.

"No one is killing," Red pointed out.

Raven kept quiet the whole time with her mental powers spread out trying to feel if Night was in the area. It was proving to be difficult to weed out all of the random thoughts of the people around the area, but she was focusing on the bond she'd created with him back as Robin to find him. Suddenly, a flash of a memory whipped across her mental eye startling her. The same memory flashed again and Raven was able to identify it; it was how she looked when Nightwing had left the Tower. 'Wait, that was from Nightwing's perspective. He's here.' Raven then turned to Red and Terra. "He's here. I just picked up a memory from him. He's around here somewhere."

"Can you pinpoint him?" asked Red.

"No. It was too fast and he blocks me too well. He's not showing emotions either, so I can't pick those up."

"Keep trying, Rae. I'm sure you'll find him," Terra claimed while putting a calming hand on Raven's shoulder.

They continued to walk on. Raven suddenly had another flash; this one of the fight at the gold depository when he first killed. The raw anger and hatred at the exact moment were overwhelming; then the added guilt was tacked on afterwards. Raven had to hold her head. It was begging to make her dizzy. Just when she'd gotten over it, another flash came by; Nightwing and Rich were staring at each other and then Rich walked off into darkness. The waves of extreme sorrow, guilt, and loss were too much for Raven to handle. She fell to her knees holding her head as the dizziness increased. She became nauseous.

"Raven, what's wrong?" asked Terra in a worried tone.

"The memories are too much, I'm getting dizzy. It's making me sick."

Red looked around and saw a bar, it was the cleanest one in the entire underground district. "C'mon, you can use the restroom in here to calm down." Red took her elbow and helped guide her into the bar. "Give me the mirror to hold just in case you do get ill." Raven nodded and handed him the specially crafted mirror that would be a pathway into Nightwing's mind.

Red walked over to the bar and set the mirror down while the girls went to the restroom and locked the door for some privacy. The bartender came down to take his order when a voice spoke from beside him.

"We'll have two Irish Car-bombs."

Red turned his head to watch as Night took a seat next to him. "So sending Raven messages to make her dizzy and forcing us to come in here was your big plan?"

"Worked didn't it?" Night replied with a smirk. He then put a disk down on the counter next to the mirror. "You'll find the data on that to be most interesting. I can get more too, just need to set up a time to meet." Night then noticed the mirror. "A bit gaudy to be carrying around to make sure your shades are straight ain't it?"

"It's a portal mirror to your mind, just like Raven has."

"What did you need me to do to make it work?"

Red slid it over to his partner. "You have to touch it while bleeding. So I guess just prick a finger or something. Your call really I suppose." He then noticed that Night seemed to be biting his lip as though thinking about it. Red was then puzzled when Night began to pucker his lips repeatedly and kissed the mirror. "A bit vain aren't we?"

Night smirked and showed the mirror to Red. It was then that Red noticed the mirror glowed lightly and then stopped. In the center was a kiss in blood. "I figure this way if Raven really misses me she can pucker up and kiss me whenever she wants."

Red just shook his head. The drinks then arrived. Both young men grabbed the shots and dropped them into the glasses, watching as the black liquid turned a chocolate color. They lifted their glasses into the air to toast.

"To the criminals who keep us in a job," stated Night.

Red raised an eyebrow then shrugged. "To the criminals." Both men tapped their glasses and began to down their drinks. When Red finished he looked but Night was gone leaving his empty glass in his place. "I have got to learn how he does that."

The girls came back as he paid the bill and they walked outside. Once outside they headed for a dark alley where no one was at. "Here's the mirror."

Raven took it and gasped. "It's active. How?"

Without showing any signs on his face Red responded, "I ran into an old friend." He then produced the disk with a Nightwing logo on it.

"Damn you! I told you to quit hiding stuff from me," growled Terra.

"Especially something like this. We could have tried to bring him back," joined Raven.

Red put his hands up in a defensive pose and began to back up. "Hold on here. You both know that if he didn't want to come back, there's no way we could have made him. We got the mirror working, we have some information to work on now, and we're all exhausted. Let's just go back to the Tower and get a good nights rest and talk about this tomorrow."

"Fine," grumbled Raven as she clutched the mirror to her chest yet again and began to concentrate her powers to transport them back to Titans Tower with her soul-self.

"You're still in the dog house, slave," Terra said with a glare.

Red just bowed his head and slumped his shoulders. "I'm so whipped," he mumbled.

As the dark shadow of a raven enveloped the trio and flew off, a dark figure perched on a nearby ledge couldn't help but smirk. "Yeah, you sure are, Red." Night jumped down and began to walk off into the darkness he now called home. He knew that it wouldn't be long before they decided to use that mirror. He was sure that Raven would want to use it in the morning and probably alone. He was hoping she would at least. It would be the only time he could talk to her now. Night had to chuckle to himself at that. 'I'm gonna be hearing voices in my head. It's official. I'm nuts.' As he walked off further, another thought crossed his mind; 'I wonder if the Joker or Two-Face have this problem?'

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Jacketslacker: Someone once asked the music I listen to for when I right fight scenes, now you know one of them. Also, the drink that Night and Red order is a real drink consisting of half a pint of Guinness with a shot that's half Kahlua and half Jameson whiskey. You drop the shot into the pint glass and it mixes and tastes just like chocolate milk. I am of legal age to drink so I know these things, I do not condone the consumption of alcohol by anyone under the legal age. Remember, drink responsibly. That's all I got for this part. Remember I'd love to hear from some artists as soon as possible. We'll work out the details for your sketches and the roll you'll portray later on. Keep on trucking.


	13. Confrontations Abound

I HAVE UPDATED! I know it's been a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since I last updated, not much I could do about it. I'll try to get another one out before too long, but no promises. Hope everyone likes the newest installment. I'm still looking for artists to help out with some drawings of the characters. E-mail me if you want to help out.

Now onto thanking my reviewers. From Media Miner: Shirtlessguy; No shirt, no service man. I'll let it slide this time. I'm sorry for my grammar, I hated that subject in school and still do. I'm glad you like my twist. Randomravenfan; sorry for taking so long. Classes kinda got a little rough, okay they got a lot rough. Something does happen in this chapter, hope you like it. Lyncea; here is the update you've been waiting for girl. Some serious shit will go down in this chapter. Confrontation will abound, questions may be answered, and questions may be asked. Read to find out what the latest from my fucked up brain plays out as. Now for my Fan Fiction reviewers: HeWhoWalksTheEarth; sorry if it seems rushed, it's just how it plays out in my mind. I'm glad you like it though. Ssgohan79; you can review each chapter, including this one. The reason I snapped at you before was that you sent me 12 review in the same day that all said "great story update soon". That's just kind of annoying is all. I like hearing from my loyal followers each time I have a new edition out there. So go ahead and review this one too. Lady of Faerie; yeah, I can only imagine the headlines the next day in the papers. I hope this chapter pleases you as much as the previous one. Cimple; I also hope to continue to kick the ass that I have so far. My writing has improved partly because I'm not using notepad and am now using Word I think. Dlsky; I know about having no time, believe me. I'm glad you like how the characters interact with each other. You'll see some interesting interactions in this chapter as well. Jax and Rich are both based on different aspects of my life, I can be both the fun-loving and laid back guy or the brooding and dark one. Remember, please drink responsibly. Kami-elf; dark+drama+actiongood. I'll remember that. Nuttin2dowidit; I realize that Jax probably should have had his ass handed to him by his girlfriend, but I think it's funnier if he's forced to be a slave instead. Mainly because I've been there. "Sphincter-tightening adventure" is from the John Boy & Billy radio show, their "Married-Man" superhero segment. Thanks for the book idea though, might need to check into it. Luhism; here's the next chapter. Bloodendkiss; hate me all you want, but cliffhangers are essential to keep you coming back. Don't worry, I will finish the story eventually. It's nowhere near the end yet though. LM22102; if that was a compliment thanks, if not than screw you. I know it took a while, but here's the update. I'm glad you like my style, thanks. Tecna; I'm glad you were rendered unable to form complete and coherent sentences by reading my fic. Here's the last update which hopefully will have the same result.

Well, that's all my reviews. It's a little upsetting that I didn't get as many this time. Come one people, show me the love and get me motivated to write more. Now, enough of this crap and onto the story.

Disclaimer: I'm back in school so all money went towards the text books. This unfortunately included my funding that was to be used to buy the rights to the Teen Titans. However, if you would like to donate to the cause, then please feel free to send me money.

**Chapter 13**

The early morning rays of the sun began to warm the large T-shaped structure in the bay. The inhabitants of the building would soon be stirring. One-by-one they staggered into the main room and headed towards the kitchen. After each having their respective breakfasts, it was decided to check out the data disk supplied by Night.

Jax walked over to the computer and put the disk in. The computer began to spin and read it. The screen suddenly went blank and a blue firebird appeared. Next, a small window popped up and demanded the correct password or the data would be corrupted.

"Damn, he's way too paranoid," remarked Cyborg.

"How are we supposed to know what the right password would be?" questioned Terra.

Jax just glanced over his shoulder at his teammates and smirked, "Oh ye of little faith." He then turned back around and hit five keys on the keyboard. To the astonishment of everyone in the room, he'd just spelled out 'RAVEN' and then hit the enter key.

"I'm his password?" Raven asked with astonishment.

"Yup, and Terra was mine."

"What do you mean 'was'?" demanded Terra.

"Well, all the passwords in the Tower are numeric, so I can't very well use your name. I use the date I first got a kiss from you."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Terra cooed as she hugged her boyfriend. "You're still not getting out of your enslavement."

"Damn!" Jax muttered under his breath.

"Okay, back to the point here people," admonished Cyborg.

"Right away, oh Metallic One," Jax mocked with a fake salute. The action earned him a dual smack from both Cyborg and Terra. "Ow. What is this; beat on the new guy day?"

"Yes, you just missed the memo," Raven said with a glare. "Now access the damn disk."

"Yes ma'am."

The Teen Titans poured over the information on the data disk. Their faces showed varying degrees of shock and amazement as they delved deeper and deeper into it. They were amazed at the vast amount of intelligence Night had gathered. Beast Boy and Starfire had even joined the others in looking at the computer screen. They finally made it to the last section of the disk, only to discover it was the HIVE students.

"Dude, that's like, so wrong."

"I agree, boyfriend Beast Boy. Are they not supposed to have had their lives terminated by Nightwing?" questioned Starfire.

Raven just glared at the red-head.

"Okay, so what are we gonna do about this?" Jax asked as he spun around in the chair to face his teammates.

"What we always do with the bad guys; take them down," replied Cyborg.

"Yeah, I might be the new guy but even I know that fact," growled Jax. "I meant what exactly is the plan of attack?"

"We sneak in and take them down," Cyborg said. "The diagrams Night supplied give us detailed routes into and out of the building."

"Do you think we have enough power with the four of us to take them down?" questioned Terra.

"You mean the six of us," objected Beast Boy. "I know we aren't on the best of terms, but you're gonna need some help for this one."

All turned their eyes to Raven waiting for her reply. She narrowed her eyes at the green teen before responding with a venomous growl, "I don't like it, but you're right." Raven then turned around and headed out of the room. "I'm going to my room to meditate."

Once securely in her room, Raven ran over to her night table and picked up the mirror that was bonded to Rich's mind. She concentrated her energy and closed her eyes. Raven suddenly felt weightless and opened her eyes to find herself shrouded in darkness.

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Raven floated towards an object off in the distance. She realized that it was an ornate wooden door. It appeared to be a dark mahogany with intricate gothic designs carved into it. Raven studied the door, wondering if she should just try the handle or knock first. 'Well, there isn't any kind of knocker so it looks like I check the handle.'

Raven stretched a pale and shaking hand outwards. Just as she was about to touch it, the door was jerked open with an incredible speed. Startled, Raven jumped back and into a fighting position.

"Relax, Raven. I'm not gonna hurt you," came a smooth voice from inside.

Raven peered into the darkness and saw only the silhouette of a man. He stepped forward and revealed himself to be Nightwing, or at least the manifestation of the Nightwing persona. He stepped to the side and gestured for her to enter with his hand.

Raven stepped through the door and Nightwing closed it behind her. As she looked around, she realized she was in a large space. There were no walls or a ceiling. While it appeared that a floor did exist, there were no discernable lights present. This proved to be a puzzle to the young empath due to the fact that the area was brightly illuminated, but no shadows were cast from the figures in the room.

Raven couldn't help but smirk as she turned to face Nightwing. "I knew your head was empty but this is a little overboard isn't it?"

Nightwing crossed his arms over his chest and gave a scowl. "If I recall correctly from what Cyborg and BB told me about your mind; don't you have a realm where everything is pink and fuzzy?"

Raven growled at him. "Touche."

Nightwing smirked and uncrossed his arms as he took a few steps towards Raven. "I'm glad you came alone. It gives me the chance to beg forgiveness without humiliating myself in front of the others."

Nightwing then began to get down on his knees to start the begging process when Raven jumped forward and stopped him. "You're forgiven. I should have realized the inner turmoil you face is the same that I once had to deal with. I am curious to know how many personalities you have."

Nightwing nodded. "Two exist; myself and Rich." At the mention of Rich's name Nightwing bowed his head. "I haven't seen Rich since the incident in the Tower. It was the last step in our redemption, and he was crushed. I don't blame you, Rae. You had every right to react the way you did."

While the guilt of having caused the rift between the personalities was weighing on her conscience, Raven felt lighter after he said he did not blame her.

"Well, I know you didn't come here to insult me so ask the questions already," Nightwing gruffly stated.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "For someone who isn't mad at me you sure are mean."

"Can't be helped, it's who I am. The Nightwing persona, yours truly, was created to be mean and ruthless. You've seen and experienced firsthand what I'm truly capable of. I just started to have a few of Rich's quirks rub off on me lately."

Raven managed to hide the flinch from his harsh wording of what he was, but the hurt in her eyes didn't escape him. She glared at him as she began her interrogation. "So what is it you want from me? Was Rich just trying to get into my pants and you didn't want to wait anymore?"

Nightwing scoffed before turning away slightly. "First; you wear a leotard so there were no pants involved." This earned him a growl. "Rich wanted the relationship, however he just wanted the emotional part of it. I'm the part of the mind that wants the physical interaction. He truly didn't want to get into your pants, as you put it, but I sure as Hell wasn't gonna pass up the chance I was offered."

"You're a bastard."

"Thanks for noticing. Don't get me wrong, I went about it the wrong way and it was very stupid of me. It's just hard to fight it when you don't have the emotional connection and only the lust part of love. Surely you can relate to one emotion not knowing how another works."

Raven's face suddenly changed to one of shock and understanding. "So you're the dark side."

Nightwing chuckled darkly. "Is this the point where I quote the movie and tell you 'I'm your father' when we both know I finished him off?" He couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face. "To answer the question though; yes I am the darker side of his emotions and mind. I'm supposed to be the really violent side of him."

"What do you mean 'supposed to be'?"

"We're not a perfect split of good versus evil. There is some good in me, which can be brought out when needed; but there is also evil within him. I guess it just feels like if it came down to it, instead of joining together like we're supposed to be, we'll fight to the death and the end result won't be pretty." He shook his head while he sighed after having admitted that.

Raven just stood there letting it all settle in. She had to get him out of this self-loathing funk he was in. "So to get back to what you said earlier; while Rich wants to marry me for the long-term commitment, you're the one who wants to marry me for the wedding night?"

Nightwing couldn't even hope to hide the startled look that flashed his face as he flushed red and took a jerking step backwards. "Wh-what?"

Raven covered her mouth with a hand as she smiled and giggled. "Sorry, couldn't help myself."

Nightwing recovered and narrowed his masked eyes as he snarled at her. "I'd be careful what you do in here, Raven."

"Why is that?" she asked; not being one to back down from a challenge.

"In here, I control everything. You may be able to use your powers, but in my mind I control the entire world around you." To prove his point he shifted the blank scene around him to his room back at "The Pit." "Recognize this place? It's where I attacked you. Maybe I should finish the job."

Terror crossed the dark beauty's face as she backed up against a wall. The scene then reverted back to the void space as Nightwing grabbed his head and screamed at the top of his lungs. When he finished he fell to his knees and turned a tortured looking face upon her.

"I'm sorry, Raven. I let my temper get away from me again."

She approached him carefully and knelt before him. "It's okay," she said in a whisper. "I see it now. Without his influence you're too violent and uncontrollable. Without your influence . . . . . ." she trailed off.

Nightwing just nodded and spoke in a voice louder than she had. "Without me he's too weak."

Raven could only nod in agreement. "So, do you promise not to molest me if I was to give you the hug that it looks like you need?"

Nightwing looked to be contemplating the act for a bit longer than Raven wanted to admit. He finally sighed and slumped down a bit. "I guess I can keep that promise."

Raven was readying her fist to ram into his nose when she caught the slight smile; not a smirk but an actual smile. She smiled in return and embraced the personification of "evil" before her.

Nightwing tightened the embrace around the lithe figure in his arms. "I know it only sounds like I'm just physically attracted to you, but it's because I do share the love for you that makes me so infatuated with you," he whispered in her ear.

Raven had to fight the shiver from going down her spine at hearing his words and feeling his warm breath on her ear. She pulled back from the hug a bit but didn't remove her arms from around his neck. She then surprised them both by closing in towards his face and kissing him.

Nightwing was shocked to say the least, but quickly overcame that and kissed Raven back.

The sweet and innocent kiss rapidly grew in intensity and heat. Their arms crushed their bodies together as their tongues wrestled for dominance, neither willing to submit to the other. The kiss lasted what seemed an eternity before Raven broke it in a desperate gasp for oxygen.

"Yeah, you're definitely more physical," she breathlessly said.

Nightwing smirked as he brought them to their feet and broke the embrace. "Glad I could help. So now that we're on good terms again I'll try to find Rich and then next time hopefully everything will work out alright."

"I hope so, I miss you."

"Did you look at the data disk yet?"

Raven nodded. "We've developed a plan of attack for later tonight." Raven then scowled. "The bastard and the whore are gonna be going with us tonight."

Nightwing put his hands on Raven's shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Let it go, Raven. I've forgiven them, you shouldn't hold anything against them anyways."

Raven glared back at him. "Of course I can hold it against them; they hurt you."

"And thanks to them we're now together and I've grown more powerful than before. Where's the downside?"

Raven paused a minute to think about that. "You're right. What should we do with them? We were planning on sending them off to Tamaran."

Nightwing shook his head. "Let them back on the team. You'll need them. I wouldn't go so far as to thank them for us being together, but you don't need to hate them anymore."

Raven nodded and started to look at the ground.

Nightwing noticed her behavior immediately. "What else is wrong?"

Raven looked up with sad and worried eyes. "What if you come back and she tries to steal you away from me?"

Nightwing couldn't help it, he laughed harder than ever before. He wiped a tear from under his mask from the action. "For starters, I'm fiercely loyal so you don't need to worry about that at all. I also need my woman to be slightly deeper than a kiddy-pool." This comment earned him a smirk and a chuckle as she put her arms around his neck again. "Well, that's what Rich needs. I need my woman to have some hellacious curves," he said with a promising leer.

Raven narrowed her eyes. "Did you just call me fat?"

She wasn't fooling him though; he saw the amusement in eyes. "Absolutely," he said with absolute seriousness with earned him a wide-eyed look from the purple-haired beauty. "So long as you're spelling that as 'P.H.A.T.' that is."

Raven chuckled again and gave him a brief kiss. "I should be going. I need to rest up for tonight's operation. I'd really like knowing you had our backs on this too."

"You can count on it. Just have Jax, I mean Red X, send a signal and I'll get it."

Raven nodded and headed towards the door. Nightwing opened it for her. Raven went up and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "I love you," she said and then ran through the door and disappeared.

Nightwing closed the door and sighed. "I love you t-," but he never finished. Out of the darkness, a metallic boot had smashed into the back of Nightwing's head and knocked him out cold. The dark figure then tied up and gagged the unconscious man. Once done, the dark figure stood and smiled evilly as he cracked his knuckles.

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The Teen Titans were doing their best to sneak into the base of Brother Blood's operation. They followed the blueprints and the map that Night had supplied to them. Red X had already sent the signal to Night, which meant the dark avenger should have been there to meet them. The fact that they were short one man for this plan didn't faze the Teen Titans as they continued on their way into the steel mill. They remained in the shadows as they surveyed the area in preparations for battle. They were able to determine that while Brother Blood did have a massive army of robots at his disposal, they were not all up and running yet from the last battle. He had only around a hundred of the Cyborg clones. There were also his three prized HIVE students and Brother Blood himself to contend with. Overall it wasn't the best situation in the world. They then prepared themselves for battle. Red X charged up his palm blasters. Terra's eyes and hands began to glow yellow. Cyborg transformed his arm into the sonic cannon. Beast Boy tensed and pictured the animals he'd form shortly, a gorilla at the top of that list. Starfire's eyes and hands began to glow green. Last was Raven whose eyes and hands took on their black aura as she began to chant under her breath. The teens all collectively drew in a deep breath and held it as they waited the signal.

"Titans, GO!" commanded Cyborg.

The charge was made. Terra ripped a boulder from the ground and flew into the air with Red X flying along side. Beast Boy morphed into the gorilla and roared as he rushed forward while Starfire flew above him yelling her own battle cry. Cyborg ran forward at full speed towards the drones with Raven flying just over his left shoulder.

The element of surprise had been with them and used perfectly. Before the drones had time to react or assume any formations they were struck down in great numbers. Several found themselves crushed under large boulders that were surrounded by a yellow glow. Near those were more drones that found a large 'X' blasted through their torsos. In another area robots found themselves being ripped apart and their own limbs used as clubs by a large green gorilla. Surrounding the primate were robots blown apart by balls of pure green energy. Nearby to these two fight scenes was the third in which robots found themselves blown back and into pieces by a powerful blast of sonic energy. Next to these drones were others that were destroyed internally from a powerful black aura.

Brother Blood stood off away from the fight with his three students. "It would appear that the Titans have the upper hand. I don't know how they knew how to get in here or the fact that we weren't prepared for an attack, but see to it that they pay for it," he said with a stern voice as he glared at the three figures before him.

"Yes sir," chimed Jinx. "Consider them as good as beaten."

"Those snot-lickers are toast," sneered Gizmo.

Mammoth just smirked while cracking his knuckles.

The trio then dove for their targets. Jinx took Beast Boy and Starfire, Gizmo got Red X and Terra, and that left Cyborg and Raven for Mammoth. Jinx began hexing all the surrounding robot debris. This caused it to explode with incredible force. Starfire easily dodged the destruction by flying higher. Beast Boy was doing everything he could to avoid being hit. Because Jinx was moving too fast for him, Beast Boy didn't have time to think of something to transform into. The direct result of his indecision was a blast rocketing him into the air. Seeing her boyfriend blasted by the explosion sent Starfire into a quick descent to pick him up, which was Jinx's plan the whole time. As Starfire came close to the ground, she had just enough time to see the hex that Jinx had thrown hit a downed drone and explode it right into their faces. The couple were sent spiraling through the air and collided into an unused cauldron.

Gizmo was proving to be a true annoyance to Red X and Terra. His last blaster kept destroying the boulders that Terra threw at him. His jet pack kept him just ahead of all of Red X and his multiple attacks. Red X started with his palm blasters. These proved to be too readable as they shot straight out from his hands. He then switched to the X-blades, throwing them in wide arcs and formations as he tried to confuse the half-pint genius into making an error. Finally, Red X started to use the X-gels hoping he could hit some portion of Gizmo and slow him down just a little bit. The only thing all this did however was to make Red X grow tired. Terra was trying every trick she had. She would throw large boulders and then split them at the last minute into smaller rocks, this was countered by multiple lasers coming out of Gizmo's pack and blasting them away. Gizmo then pulled out a strange gun and managed to blast Red X with it; this in turn fried all of his systems and essentially turned him into a statue. Gizmo then swooped in and hit the armored hero into the blonde earth-mover and thus knocking them both unconscious.

Raven and Cyborg had their hands full with Mammoth. He used brute strength to smash anything that Raven was able to get her powers on and throw at him. This same method proved quite effective anytime Cyborg made a charge towards the hairy man. Every time Raven would just about have Mammoth completely distracted, Cyborg would go in swinging. This proved ineffective as Mammoth would spin around and deliver a crushing blow to the metal man. Raven picked up a few of the drones and began to hurl them towards Mammoth. Mammoth simply caught them and slung them around his body. His action sent the drones on a collision course with Raven too fast for her to respond. The end result was being launched towards a recovering Cyborg causing a head-on collision.

The HIVE students dragged the limp forms for the Teen Titans to the center of the room. The remaining drones, numbering only ten, circled around the heroes while the three students joined their master on the platform over them. The Teen Titans began to come out of their varying states of unconsciousness.

"Well, well, well. I'm quite surprised to see you here," remarked Brother Blood. "I'm not sure how you got here, but I can assure you that you won't be leaving." The drones all formed their sonic cannons and charged them to maximum power.

The Teen Titans didn't cower in fear. They stared down the barrels of their impending demise with faces of pure determination. It would be said this day that the Teen Titans went out fighting the good fight till the very end.

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A lone black figure sat upon the roof of the steel mill watching the battle before him. He'd been there since before the heroes made their entrance, but he remained in the shadows and kept the vigil over the scene. It wasn't until the Teen Titans were surrounded that he decided to make his move. The figure stood up and then leapt into the air. As he descended he kicked the glass window panes and shattered them, sending a shower of glass shards towards the unsuspecting crowd below him. While free-falling he reached over his shoulders to grip the stocks of twin Winchester Model 9410 Traditional shotguns (A/N: Chosen for the ability to hold 10 rounds each and have the cocking mechanism at the trigger like in Terminator 2). The dark figure landed and pulled the triggers on the shotguns, blasting away the heads of two of the drones.

It was after this impressive entrance that the figure was finally in enough light for the rest of the people in the room could see the new attacker. To the relief of the Teen Titans, it looked like Night had finally made it to the scene. It was puzzling though why his hair was pulled back into a low pony-tail and his signature trench coat wasn't around him, but it could easily be argued that the holsters on his back and the ammo belts around his chest prevented its use. This of course brought up the question of why did he have shotguns in the first place? In a move that showed his supreme skill with the deadly weapons, Night spun them on his fingers and cocked them for the next volley of shots. He turned to the right to blast a pair of drones who'd come too close to the heroes in the center of the circle for his liking and blasted their chests open. This sudden movement forced a collective gasp from the six Teen Titans. It was then that they realized that Night wasn't wearing his shades; Rich was the one in control tonight and he wasn't pulling any punches.

Two more bots began to fire at the disturbed young man, thus bringing his wrath down upon them. Rich flipped out of the way of the incoming blasts and launched himself into the air. From his vantage point above the scene he unloaded two more shots at the drones and spun the shotguns in his hands again. He landed on the shoulders of another two of the drones, forcing them to hit the ground hard face down. Rich placed the barrels of the guns to the back of their heads and pulled the triggers. The resulting explosion of metal and sparks gave an eerie glow to the powerful fighter's face. This left only two more of the robots left to deal with. As Rich had his back towards the offending drones, they charged him. The robots were almost upon the young man when he suddenly did a back flip over their heads. While in the air he yet again cocked his shotguns; he unloaded the blast into the backs of the drones when he came to a landing behind them.

'That's ten shots out of twenty. All the drones are gone. Just have to contend with those HIVE retards and their egomaniacal leader,' thought Rich. He spun the guns and chambered the next shell in each.

"What are you waiting for?" hollered Brother Blood. "Kill the bastard!"

The terrible trio charged the stranger before them. Gizmo flew forward using his jet pack. He readied several lasers in preparations of turning his opponent into Swiss cheese. As he rocketed towards the target Rich raised his firearms with blinding speed. Showing off his precision marksmanship skills, he blasted the front chest plate containing the controls to all of Gizmo's gear. The force of the shot spun the diminutive genius around giving the perfect opportunity for the second shotgun to take out the jet pack. The shots knocked the wind out of Gizmo before his face met a large cauldron rendering him unconscious.

Jinx was the next to try and take on the new-comer. As she ran forward and charged her hands in preparations for throwing her hex spells, Rich had already prepped his weapons for firing and was getting a lock on his next target. Jinx caught the sight of the raised guns just in time to see them both fire. She jumped and held her breath in anticipation of the searing pain that was to come. When it never came, Jinx glanced around and saw that the shotguns were aimed well over her head.

"What was that? A warning shot?" she sneered.

Rich smirked and spun the guns as he lowered them to his sides. He then glanced up and Jinx followed his eyes. Jinx went wide-eyed as she saw that he'd shot the drain valve on a large vat of water. The damaged unit suddenly ruptured and poured hundreds of gallons all at once upon the unsuspecting witch. The deluge of water hit with such strength it forced her to the ground and knocked her out cold.

Rich then turned his iced-blue eyes towards the towering behemoth whose name fit him well; Mammoth. "Come and get me, big fella."

Mammoth charged Rich, whom simply jumped out of the way and onto a set of crates. Mammoth began to jump after the gun-toting maniac. Rich kept jumping higher and higher, with Mammoth following closely behind. Rich finally made it to a landing high above the floor of the mill. Mammoth soon landed a short distance away from Rich and began to crack his knuckles. Rich just smiled a sinister grin that made Mammoth stop in his tracks. He then raised the shotguns and pointed them off to the side and pulled the triggers. The spray of pellets destroyed the supports holding up the section of the landing Mammoth was standing on making it fall away. Mammoth fell to the ground, only having his fall broken by several wooden crates. The resulting concussion made him black out immediately.

Rich cocked the weapons and then leapt from the platform down to the crates. He had one more villain to take down.

Brother Blood saw the lone gunman leaping from crate to crate. He charged up his hands with his energy and began to blast away at the dark-clad figure. Rich kept leaping and dodging the attacks Brother Blood threw at him. In one final somersaulting leap he took a bead on Brother Blood and fired. Rich managed to successfully destroy Brother Blood's arms, thus ending his attack. As Rich came down into a landing he cocked the guns and stayed low to the ground, his next goal was in sight and he again fired his weapons only this time taking out the legs of his enemy.

Brother Blood screamed in tormented pain as he was rendered limb-from-limb. As his torso began to fall towards the ground, Rich did a spinning tornado kick to the robotic chest. The blow sent what was left of Brother Blood flying across the room into a computer consul and smashing it in the process. Brother Blood struggled to remain conscious. Rich stalked towards his prey slowly. He flipped the guns in his hands one last time. Rich stepped right in front of the prone form of Brother Blood and raised one of the guns. Instead of pulling the trigger, he swung it like his staff and pistol-whipped Brother Blood. The impact knocked him out completely.

Rich took a step back and surveyed the work he'd done tonight. 'Not bad. I took out the major crime boss and his three main lackeys in one night. Of course he'll break out like always, and I'll be there to beat the ever-loving shit out of him.'

The Teen Titans were still stunned by the development of the night. Raven was the first to snap out of the stupor and she began to fly towards her boyfriend. She was not far from him when she finally called out to him. "Rich!"

Rich gritted his teeth and held onto his weapons with a vise-like grip. He could feel Raven as she came closer. At the last minute, he spun around and leveled one of the shotguns at her face.

Raven stopped dead in her tracks. She was staring down the barrel of a shotgun into the very cold and hate-filled eyes of Richard Grayson. Terror enveloped her very heart and soul at the look in his eyes.

"So do you still think I'm weak?" interrogated Rich.

Raven was puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

Rich sneered at her. "Don't fucking play with me! I saw you come into my mind. I watched you chat with him. I heard you agree with him that I'm weak. I watched you hug him. Then you kissed him and told him you loved him. I saved you from him and you fell in love with him. You're just a whore like Starfire."

Raven shook her head adamantly. "No, you misunderstood. It's not like tha-."

"Shut the Hell up, bitch! I'm gonna take care of you and the rest of those damn Teen Titans and then I'll rid myself of that annoying Nightwing. I'll rebuild Slade's empire and take over the world." Rich smirked now. "Well, at least you can die knowing that you helped create a very powerful fighter and future world ruler."

Rich glanced out of the corners of his eyes to see the shocked and horrified faces of the rest of the Teen Titans. He then glanced back to Raven. "I'll see you in Hell, Raven." Rich then did the one thing no one thought he'd ever do, he pulled the trigger on his girlfriend . . . . . . . . .

_**Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break**_

Jacketslacker: Oh my GOD! That has to be the world's most evil cliffhanger ever. However, if you pay close attention to the chapter, you'll be able to tell what is gonna happen in the next one. I don't want any flames because of that last part. It's essential to the story and will play a HUGE part. I don't know when the next time I update will be. Maybe if I'm lucky it will be before Thanksgiving. Don't hold your breath kids. I wish I could have more time for writing, but school is majorly kicking my ass. It's what happens when you make it to your final year in Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech. Well, until next time. Please review, it lets me know people still want to read this thing. If you've reviewed before, please review again. I like repeat customers.


	14. A Hero Lost

**This chapter is dedicated to JhyarelleDrakon. Keep writing my friend and forget the purist Nazis that hate non-canon fics.**

**I still want an artist to help me with drawings for this fic. Please contact me, I can't draw anything to save my life.**

To all those reviewers who are used to authors not giving them the time of day, it's 3:57 am CST.

Now onto my acknowledgement of people who read this fic WAY back when I started it. Hope you're still with me. From Lyncea; ahh, my prcecious Lyncea, so trusting, so loyal, so gonna kick my ass for not updating in over a year. I hope this chapter is as good as my others. Don't worry, I won't use a shotgun on you if you don't, I have an RPG for that (that's Rocket Propelled Grenade you Final Fantasy geeks). Randomravenfan; despite threatening me, I've given you another chapter. Kokuryu; this fic has been called movie-worthy before, but I think masterpiece is new. Thanks. Now onto Tecna; my goal in life is to make everyone speechless so that no one can ever talk back to me again. Respect my authority! I hope this one also makes you speechless. Hound Archon; I wanted to go for badassness, so he got shotguns. I thought it worked. Hope you like the further badassitude in this chapter. Nuttin2dowidit; God I love that movie. Hope this one inspires you just as much as the last one. ISoundLikeARockstar; arms RPG you slap my wrist again and I'm pulling the trigger. I like evil cliffhangers, get used to them. Dlsky; I think you give me too much credit with my writing. I'll take the praise though. Kirbythesmiteyone; Did he really shoot her, or did I make you THINK that. Read to find out if you dare. Lady of Faerie; I'll have you know that Hell is nice this time of year. Let's see what you think of Rich this time. Kirril; I'm glad you liked the story. I guess he did kind of go Punisher last chapter, kewl. Shifting1; My story is addicting? AWESOME! Spawn of Darkness; Rich has gone out on a limb for a reason, when I figure it out I'll share it. She's not dead yet! Blissfulrain; glad you like my story so far, hope you like this new installment. Twilight moonshine; . . . . . . . . . heh, I like making them speechless. DarkLilo; assume nothing, except that you can't anticipate my next move because I don't know what I'm doing either. Fallengod667; I'm glad you like the story so far, sorry it took me forever and a day to update. SpottedShadow2947; glad you stuck with me and enjoy the pairing now. Foxboy193; Hope you still think this is the best fic ever. Jackson Walters; welcome to my fic. Darksunshine01; yes, you're insane, the longest word in English is PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS, 4749956, and the answers to your other questions may be answered in this chapter. Juppppy IV; I want more reviews, you want more reviews, but only the people can bring them to me. REVIEW PEOPLE! And don't whine about how long I take to update, I'm sensitive. GMastr56; glad you like it. Anime master Inu; glad you liked the chapter, here's another for ya. like it matters; I love making people sweat it out for a cliffie. Enjoy the latest chapter. Slaughtergirl; laughs maniacally another convert to Robin/Raven. I'm glad you like my writing. I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Reaper; thanks, I believe revenge is not a dish best served cold but molten hot with lots of explosives. Lt. Doom; Sir, Yes I'll keep writing, Sir! Lyncea; ???? weren't you on Ssgohan79; hope you like this chapter as much as the last. That's all of them. Now onto the rest of this kami-forsaken thing.

"Text" speech

'Text' thought

Disclaimer: If I'm too poor to buy music and have to pirate it, how could I possibly afford to buy the Teen Titans.

**Chapter 14**

The Teen Titans stared in absolute horror at the scene before them. Rich had just dry-fired the unloaded shotgun at Raven. The question on all of their minds; had he known it was unloaded?

Rich glared at Raven with cold, hardened eyes. There was no smirk upon his face as one would expect had it all been a ruse; there was instead a grimace filled with nothing but hate and the bitter taste of betrayal.

"Shooting you would be too easy, Raven," Rich scoffed. "No, I intend to make you suffer first. Don't worry, you'll stay alive long enough to watch the rest of the Teen Titans fall. Hell, if you beg enough you might even live to watch me rule the world. Don't think that I'll keep you around though after that, no need for dead weight."

Rich tossed the guns into the air, spinning them end-over-end, and caught them by the barrels. A battle cry that resembled a small roar erupted from deep within the chest of the crazed young man as he brought the stock of the shotgun in his right hand down upon the delicate young woman's head.

The blow never truly came as Raven used her powers to deflect the blow, destroying that shotgun in the process. The act was repeated with the other weapon as well. A feral growl came from the already unstable young man and he launched himself at her. Rich threw punch and kick combos in quick succession. He intended to be bathed in his enemies' blood by the end of this battle.

Raven did her best to block the onslaught, but he was proving to be too fast for her. As she blocked one punch, it was followed by a kick or double-punch combo. He finally proved his dominance and landed a perfect and supremely powerful roundhouse kick to her ribcage. The blow sent her flying off to the side, but she didn't get far. Rich countered this kick with a lightning fast hook-kick and she found herself on the end of a violent whiplash effect and tumbling backwards.

Before he could move in to attack again, a blue blast hit Rich from the side and sending him flipping through the air to land on his feet and sliding a good 8 feet before stopping. Cyborg had finally come out of the shock of seeing Rich turn on Raven.

"I don't know what your damage is, man." Cyborg stated while pointing his Sonic Cannon at Rich's head. "I just know that I can't let you treat my little sister like that."

The look in the non-robotic eye told all there was for the story; Rich had pissed Cyborg off enough to evoke some serious pain on the black-clad madman.

Rich smirked. "Well, if that's the way you feel 'bro' then I guess I'll have to take out the whole fucking family!" Rich roared in rage as he charged towards the towering cybernetic being.

Cyborg grit his teeth as he began to fire upon his one-time best friend and leader. A single tear rolled down his cheek from his human eye; whether from seeing Raven harmed by her loved one or fighting Rich could only be answered by Cyborg himself.

"It doesn't have to be this way man," shouted Cyborg.

"Of course it does," sneered Rich. "All those who have betrayed me shall face my wrath." Rich dodged around the blue blasts of sonic energy with ease. It would appear, it was too easy in fact. "What's the matter, Cyborg? I thought you were gonna stop me."

Cyborg continued his assault. 'Damn, is he anticipating my blasts or what?' he thought. "How the Hell are you avoiding me, you psycho!"

"It's not polite to call people names, big brother. You don't want to set a bad example for your younger siblings, do you?" Rich mocked as he jumped over another blast only to somersault under another. "Did you know that right before you shoot a blast, your eye twitches?"

Cyborg paused. 'That's how he's able to tell when I'm about to fire? That's absurd!'

His line of thinking was stopped after this as a powerful kick to the human portion of his head connected. Rich had taken advantage of Cyborg's distraction to move in and attack.

"Oh, damn. That had to hurt," Rich said with a slight chuckle.

The powerful blow to his human skull disoriented Cyborg. He stumbled a bit and shook his head to clear his vision. It cleared just in time to see a metallic-gloved fist speeding towards his eye. Cyborg entered a world of darkness as his eye rolled back in his head and he blacked-out.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Rich said in a low growl as he surveyed the rest of the Teen Titans. "Okay, who wants next dibs?"

Beast Boy stepped forward with his fists clenched. "I don't know what you claim the problem is man, but I plan to do my best to stop you."

"You know, your mouth is moving but all I hear is blah, blah, blah," mocked Rich.

Beast Boy roared as he shifted into the Beast, something he'd learned he could now control. If anyone had paid close attention, they'd have seen that this actually surprised Rich. Of course in order to notice his surprise you would have needed to notice his eyes widen only a few millimeters before returning back to their original glare. Rich knew that a very extreme dose of anger and fear could trigger the transformation, but this was new. It showed that somehow, Beast Boy had actually trained and improved himself in something. This was most likely the result of his girlfriend riding his ass, probably literally, to the point of exhaustion and he needed to find a way to gain access to more power and stamina. Further analysis would be needed to prove or disprove this theory. Rich made a mental note to keep the alien bimbo alive long enough to see if her sexual prowess indeed did bring out the best in her partners, perhaps then Rich would find himself along the lines of a god among men instead of his current demon among men category.

Rich stopped his line of thinking with only a fraction of a second to spare as he back-flipped out of the way of the Beast as it pounded the ground with its combined fists.

Rich smirked as he regained his footing. "I gotta ask. I know you're green, but you can't be related to the Jolly Green Giant. You kinda look more like that Grape Ape guy. You some kind of distant cousin a few times removed or what?"

The Beast just stopped his rampage momentarily to blink at Rich. This proved to be the wrong thing to do as Rich tossed a flash-bang grenade straight into the Beast's face. The detonation disoriented the Beast with the pain long enough for Rich to deliver a devastating blow to the solar plexus.

The Beast roared as it was hammered repeatedly by the rapid punches and kicks of Rich. A powerful roundhouse kick to the face sent the Beast reeling to the side and to the ground with a deafened thud. Rich jumped up to deliver the fatal knee-drop to the back of the Beasts neck when a green energy blast hit him from the side.

Rich righted his inadvertent flight and skid across the ground as he regained his footing. He snarled at the visage of an enraged Tamaranian princess. "You want a piece of this? Come and get it, sweet cheeks."

"I shall not allow you to harm my friends!" Starfire declared.

"I used to be your friend too, or have you forgotten who it was that helped you adjust to life on Earth?" Rich asked with malice in his voice.

"You were once my friend, former Robin, now you have become an enemy. I must put a stop to your evil ways."

Rich smirked. "Less talk, more fight."

Starfire charged Rich with a battle-cry as she threw starbolts from her hands and blasted lasers from her eyes.

The blind fury behind the attack seemed to increase the overall power of her attacks. If Rich really cared to state his opinion on the matter, he'd have probably admitted that he was impressed. The reality of the situation however was that she sacrificed the ability to think with a clear and level head needed to be a competent fighter against someone of his caliber. Oh yes, Rich was enjoying watching the rage upon the face of the young alien woman trying to currently hurt him; and he voiced as such.

"C'mon princess, can't you hit the man who put your pathetic boyfriend in his place?"

A rather large volley of starbolts racing past him as he dodged with the ease an acrobat trained in the martial arts should have was his answer.

"Well, at least you're giving it the old 'college try'. Oh wait, you're too much of an air-head to get into college on Earth."

Starfire screamed at the top of her lungs and charged a starbolt that was roughly the size of a Volkswagen Beetle. "I will send you to place of heat and flame!"

Rich dodged, barely. "Okay, I can see you mean business. For the record, it's called 'Hell' and no thanks, I've been there before."

Starfire was panting; the constant attacking and that last large starbolt had really taken a lot of energy. She was too tired to notice a seemingly gold bird-a-rang that was spinning towards her. She saw it only half a second before impact, it was just long enough for her enhanced reflexes to reach out and grab the weapon from the air.

"Hah! That will not work on one such as I!" When she looked at Rich, he was holding up three fingers.

He then pulled back one of them, leaving two visible.

Another finger was folded down.

Finally there were no fingers visible and Rich clenched his fist while a sadistic smirk was seen on his face.

This was the moment the internal timer in the bird-a-rang reached zero, and it unleashed a current of electricity that would have been enough to kill and fry a human from the inside. For the alien princess, it was just enough to overload her body and send her pain racked body and mind into blissful unconsciousness.

"Awww, I broke my new toy," Rich replied with a smirk and dark chuckle.

He turned towards the remaining two Teen Titans, Red X and Terra since Raven was still in shock from the whole incident, and gestured with his hand in a 'come and get me' gesture. "Next?"

Terra jumped up before Red X could react. "You're toast!"

Rich chuckled again. "You and what toaster?"

Her eyes glowing yellow, Terra called upon her powers. Rich was expecting her to pull up several chunks of earth and hurl them at him, not what she actually did. Rich was completely caught off guard when the ground beneath his feet was torn from the rest of the floor and thrust upward with extreme velocity. Rich had only seconds to react as he launched himself over the edge of the boulder and somersaulted to the ground. The boulder impacted the ceiling destroying itself and a large portion of the buildings structure in the process. Rich quickly used a series of back-flips to avoid the falling debris.

Rich resumed a ready battle stance and surveyed the scene. He gave off a low whistle in admiration. "That's a new one; nicely done. It would have worked on someone who's not as fast as I am."

Terra just growled at him. She then ripped up hundreds of fist shaped rocks from all around him. As she stared at Rich with glowing yellow eyes she made a motion with her hands of a circle. The rocks complied with the wishes of their mistress and began to circle Rich in a rock tornado.

Rich was once again caught off guard. 'Damn! Is she the only one that's been training? Wait, I recognize this move as something Jax and I talked about. Now what did he call it?'

Terra broke into his thoughts when she addressed him. "How do you like my new move? X calls it Gaia's Vortex."

Rich smirked. "Ahh, now I remember where I've heard of this move before. I helped him come up with this idea. Now, did he happen to tell you the one complete flaw of this attack?"

Terra couldn't help but gulp loudly. She'd never been told of a weakness. She glanced back to Red X and he shrugged, showing he had no clue what it was either.

"Let me show you something." Rich then threw an explosive disk from each hand mid-way up the vortex on opposing sides. As the disks collided with some rocks, the resulting explosion intercepted the remaining rocks that were flying into the blast and destroyed themselves into tiny pebbles and rock dust.

Terra stared in awe.

Red X stared in awe.

They both agreed at the same time; "You gotta be shitting me."

Rich chuckled darkly. He began to pace towards the two heroes in a slow and menacing stride. There was no urgency in his step. He had all the time in the world to toy with them; to play with them; to break them.

Faster than either of the heroes could react, Rich tossed a small sphere at Terra's face. The sphere detonated a foot in front of her face with a flash of light and a pop. This shocked the geomancer and she gasped, which was the reaction Rich predicted. Terra inhaled the knockout gas and crumbled to the ground in seconds.

Red X stared in horror when she fell to the ground and rushed to her side. He determined that she was just temporarily asleep. He turned his head to regard Rich, who was standing there with his arms crossed across his chest and tapping his foot impatiently.

"Can we get this over with? I have an appointment with a purple-headed backstabber," Rich demanded.

Red X gulped, this fact was lost on everyone else however because of his armor and mask he was the only one to know about it. He was also the only one to know how truly terrifying it was to be in his shoes. Rich had pretty much taught Jax and thusly Red X all that the black and red clad hero knew. Red X gathered all the courage he had to make his stand. "I know this would be an opportune moment to make some retarded quote about us 'coming full circle' and that 'the student now surpasses the master', but we both know that isn't my style and that you're gonna end up owning my ass."

"That's for damn sure," retorted Rich with a smirk and sarcastic chuckle.

"So how about we settle this like men?"

Rich quirked an eyebrow at the absurdity of the question. "You mean that neither of us uses any gadgets or suit abilities and we beat each other utilizing our own skills alone like a pair of civilized gentlemen?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Rich blinked a few times. "Either you've got brain damage or your stalling for time and hoping that the rest of the team will wake up and help you out."

Red X took another unnoticed gulp and hoped that his bluff made it.

"I don't think you're skilled enough to take me on and you sure aren't smart enough to stall me, so you've gotta be just plain stupid."

"Stupid is as stupid does," quoted Red X.

"Okay, see that right there is enough reason to beat your ass into the ground." With that said, Rich launched himself at Red X with a flying kick.

Red X deflected the kick with his right arm and used his left in a back-fist to try and catch Rich in an overextension.

It failed.

Rich tilted his head to the side allowing the fist to brush a fraction of an inch from his cheek bone.

Both combatants jumped apart from each other and began to circle.

Red X quickly flicked his eyes around the room to take stock of what was located in the area for cover and if any of the other Teen Titans were gonna be able to help him. He suppressed a whimper when he realized that he was completely on his own.

Red X took a calming breath and tensed for his next attack. "Okay, I didn't want to have to do this, but you have forced me into this, Rich."

Rich quirked an eyebrow at the bold statement. "You've got a new move? This I gotta see."

Red X nodded his head, affirming his resolve for his next steps. "Then brace yourself for the Red X Ultimate Desperation Move!"

Rich tensed and narrowed his eyes in concentration. 'Must . . . resist urge . . . to sweatdrop at this stupid name,' he thought.

Rich had prepared himself for the move when it suddenly began.

"RUN AWAY!!!" Red X yelled and turned around running at full speed.

Rich nearly fell over from the shear absurdity of the whole thing. "Wha-?" He shook out of his stupor and took off after Red X. "Get back here you Ranma wannabe!"

Red X ran into a seemingly endless maze of crates with Rich hot on his heels. As Red X turned a corner out of the line of sight for Rich he engaged his cloaking on his utility belt. 'I know we said we'd do this with honor, but I'm a former thief so that only goes so far.' Red X then took flight and hovered above Rich and tried to formulate a plan that would successfully take down the former Teen Titan turned Former Vigilante turned complete and total mental-case.

'Okay, let's take stock of what I have to work with,' Red X thought. 'I've got my suit with all the cool gadgets. I've got the element of surprise with the cloak. I've also got palm blasters and a utility belt full of toys to play with. Rich has a belt too, and way more fighting experience than me. If I can keep him guessing I might stand a chance against him. I might also be a complete and total moron for thinking I can pull this off. If only everyone else was awake, then maybe I'd have a chance.'

As Red X pondered his future existence in the mortal realm if he decided to fight Rich toe-to-toe, Rich was trying to find Red X in the crate maze.

'Where in the seven Hells is he? He's not fully trained as a ninja so he can't evade me this well.' Rich stopped to ponder this recent line of thinking. 'Unless of course he's gone back to his old thief code and cloaked himself and took off into the air.' Rich would have slapped his forehead in exasperation except that it would have drawn attention to himself. As stealthily and slowly as he could, Rich removed a thermal sensor from his belt and began to sneak behind a crate that would allow him excellent cover while he scanned the air for his prey.

When Rich picked Red X up, he was stroking his chin in thought with his back turned towards Rich. 'Bad move,' thought Rich.

Rich slowly began to climb the crates until he was just behind Red X. More silent than most trained ninja could ever hope for, Rich lashed out with a powerful flying side kick to the center of the back of Red X.

Red X grunted as he was suddenly propelled forward with incredible force. The ground was quickly approaching so he flipped over and hit the ground hard with his reinforced boots.

After coming to a stop several feet away from his initial landing spot, Red X quickly surveyed the area that was behind him looking for his assailant.

'I know that had to be Rich, no one else could sneak up on me like that.'

Rich had fallen back into the shadows and continued the use of his ninja training. He had circled around to the right side of Red X and prepared his next attack.

Red X never knew where it came from, but he suddenly found himself on the receiving end of an extremely powerful and seemingly invisible blow to the chest.

It was a roundhouse kick from Rich that nailed him and sent him sprawling backwards in a very undignified manner.

Red X paused for a few seconds to wonder how he came to be staring into blazingly white light. 'I'm dead? NO! DON'T GO INTO THE LIGHT!' He shook his head and realized he was actually lying on his back and staring at one of the many warehouse lights that adorned on the ceiling. 'Yeah, I knew that.'

Red X flipped to his feet. As soon as he righted himself and stood straight, he was staring directly into the blue eyes of Rich who was standing a mere six inches away from him. "Oh fuck me," Red X mumbled.

Rich smirked, "Sorry, but I don't swing that way." He led with a powerful haymaker that Red X barely had time to dodge.

As Red X stumbled back, Rich began what could only be described as the most brutal and deadly ballet ever imagined. Punches and kicks rained down on the red and black clad hero in a relentless series. Red X never stood a chance against the onslaught. A well placed and seemingly Herculean spinning roundhouse kick to the side of the head of Red X sent him flying sideways and into a state of unconsciousness.

Rich quickly surveyed the area, while doing a mental checklist to determine that all of the Teen Titans were indeed taken care of.

'Raven stupefied out of her mind – check.'

'Fist to Cyborg's face – check.'

'Boot to Beast Boy's skull – check.'

'Electroshock therapy for Starfire – check.'

'Sleeping gas for Terra – check.'

'Another boot to the skull but this time for Red X – check.'

He revised that list however, since one Titan was now aware of the recent turn of events and was shocked at the findings.

To say that Raven was shocked was a mild understatement; she was completely and totally stupefied at the results laid before her. Rich had systematically and habitually taken out each member of the team one by one with such apparent ease that made one wonder if even The Man of Steel himself could stand a chance against the determined young man.

Rich began to stalk towards his final prey for the evening.

"Here birdie. That's a nice birdie," Rich taunted.

Raven stared in horror as Rich slowly began to creep towards her. She began to try and crawl backwards away from the menacing form of the seemingly psychotic young man. She tried desperately to call on her powers, but she couldn't bring them out no matter how hard she tried. She couldn't understand it. Why had they abandoned her? She quickly realized the reason for it, she was petrified with fear. She'd read about it before, someone being frozen in place when faced with their eminent demise and being unable to physically do anything to stop it from occurring. In the mind of the victims, they simply couldn't recall how to make their muscles move at all and just stared upon their encroaching doom. Raven was in a similar state of mind; she was able to back away from Rich as he got closer, but she couldn't remember how her powers worked to quite literally save her life. She realized she had only one option left for her to try and get out of this alive; reasoning with a deranged madman.

"Rich, please listen to me. This is all a big misunderstanding," Raven began. "What you think you saw between Nightwing and I wasn't what really happened."

Rich chuckling rather darkly and eerily wasn't the reaction that Raven was hoping to get, nor was the bone-chilling tone of voice with which he answered her in. "You really expect me to listen to anything you have to say? You'd say anything for a chance to delay the inevitable," Rich replied and then smirked sinisterly. "But don't worry; you won't have to worry about that for a good long while still. I plan to finish what Nightwing started all those nights ago in The Pit. You remember that, don't you? It's when he tried to rape you but I stopped him. The only problem is that this time, there's no one to stop me since Nightwing is indisposed at the moment."

Rich was almost upon her now. Raven could see it in his eyes; he was truly going to finish what he'd interrupted before. There was nothing she could do to stop him. She still couldn't call upon her powers. "Please, no," she begged in a whisper of a voice so soft she could barely hear herself. She brought up her hands to swing at him as he closed in on her. "No. Please, no," this time in a louder voice that was almost at her normal talking level. She swung her fists at him and he effortlessly caught them and began to force her down. Raven knew this was it; with tears streaming down her face she summed up all the fear and terror she felt and used it to fuel her voice for one final desperate plea. "PLEASE, NO!"

The scream reverberated in the vacant warehouse. To her shock, Rich actually stopped. Then he smiled a most cruel smile and began to lean over her. Raven continued to silently weep for what was about to happen as she stared into his cold and calculating eyes.

Then the eyes changed.

They didn't soften, they became vacant and unfocused. He'd stopped all movement and stared off into complete space. Just as suddenly as he'd stopped his forward movement, he lurched backwards as if he'd been kicked in the chest, arched his back until he was looking into the ceiling lights, and screamed the most blood-curdling scream Raven had ever heard.

Rich continued to scream as he grabbed onto his head like it was threatening to explode if he didn't keep incredible pressure on it.

The Titans, who had begun to wake up when Raven had screamed earlier, were instantly awake upon hearing the deafening scream of the poor young man. It would later be described as what it must be like to listen to a soul being rendered from a still living body by the Devil himself to personally torture for all eternity.

Just as suddenly as it began, the horrifying wail of torment ended. Rich went completely limp and collapsed to the floor like his skeleton had been completely removed.

He didn't even so much as twitch after that.

The Titans began to slowly edge towards the body, half expecting him to suddenly jump up and slaughter them all like in some slasher horror film. Raven was the first to make it to his body. She quickly checked for a pulse and to see if he was breathing. She found a new level of terror when she found them.

"His breathing is extremely shallow and his pulse is thready. We have to get him back to the Tower as fast as possible."

The others dumbly nodded. Cyborg called the T-car to him while Terra contacted the police to come round up the criminals. The Titans very carefully placed Rich into the back seat of the T-car and Raven sat with him. Terra rode up front while Cyborg drove like he was Mario Andretti. Red X, Beast Boy, and Starfire all flew back to the tower alongside the racing vehicle.

_**Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break**_

Rich was quickly laid down upon one of the beds in the medical wing of the Tower. Cyborg quickly began setting up the equipment necessary to scan him for injuries. Terra and Red X assisted him while Starfire and Beast Boy looked on from the side. Raven had mysteriously disappeared when they'd gotten to back.

Cyborg read over the computer screens and printouts about the condition of the dark haired man. He grimly looked at the rest of his teammates before giving him the troublesome news. "I don't know what to make of it, ya'll. His brain isn't showing any activity except for some kind of intense sleep, almost like a coma. It's like the lights are on, but no one is home."

"There's a good reason for that, Cyborg," came the voice of the resident mystic from the door. "His two personalities are battling it out as we speak. They're fighting for dominance and to settle the argument this all stemmed from."

The Titans simply stared at Raven while she stood in the doorway. Red X then noticed something in her hands.

"Is that the mirror to his mind, Raven?" Red X asked.

"Yes it is. I'm going in to try and reason with them."

Red X nodded his head and then stated with conviction, "I'm going with you. Don't try to argue about it, he's my friend. It's what any friend would do."

Raven quickly scanned around the room to see that each and every Titan was stepping forward and nodding their heads. They all agreed that this was the right thing to do.

Raven began to chant under her breath while her black energy began to envelop everyone and pull them towards the mirror as it lay on the table.

In no time at all, the Titans found themselves in a vast expanse of darkness like that of the largest black hole in the galaxy. Off in the distance, they heard what seemed to be a rather vicious fight going on. They quickly took off sprinting towards the sound. Upon arrival, the sight that greeted them was indeed strange. Nightwing was currently fighting Rich, who was dressed in the armor of Slade without the mask.

The fight could only be described as a true dance of death. Both warriors were giving it their all, neither willing to yield any space to the other. There was one distinct difference in the nearly identical fighting styles between the two. While Nightwing appeared to be giving it his all, he was still only trying to incapacitate Rich so that the fight could end somewhat amicably. Rich was the polar opposite; wanting nothing more than to guarantee that Nightwing was left dying underneath his boot.

Nightwing's inability to go all out in this fight for power quickly became his undoing. Rich landed a jump-kick to the unprotected face of Nightwing. The blow was so powerful that it immediately disoriented the armored vigilante and opened him up for another series of vicious punches and a final roundhouse kick that sent him sprawling onto the black ground.

Rich wasn't satisfied with that though, he quickly leapt into the air and came crashing back down with his boot directly onto the blue firebird emblem on Nightwing's chest and began to push all of his weight into it, thus squeezing the lungs.

The Teen Titans could only watch in horror as the drama played out before them. Fear had frozen all of them in their places. Not a sound could be heard from the abyss they were all contained in except for the struggled breathing of Nightwing and the heavy panting of a deranged Rich. This was soon broken by dark chuckling from Rich as he began to speak.

"As soon as I'm done with you, Nightwing, I'll be free to wreak havoc on the world. There's been a shift of power within this collective mind of ours, I've gotten all of the so called 'evil' and you've gotten all of that 'goody-goody-righteousness' instead. It's fun turning the tables." He looked over to see the looks upon the faces of his former teammates and sneered at them. He then looked back down at his prey. "I'll be sure that they don't suffer too much. Don't worry; I'll take really good care of Raven too." Rich began to laugh maniacally at the narrowed eye slits on the mask of Nightwing.

Nightwing knew this was it. He had nothing left. It had taken most of his energy to break the bonds Rich had placed on him and to bring Rich back into the abyss, he didn't have enough to finish the fight. An idea suddenly popped into his head. 'This is it, the last attempt of a desperate man.'

Nightwing looked dead into the eyes of Rich. "Congratulations, you've finally done it. You've won."

Rich began stopped laughing and smirked at Nightwing.

Nightwing continued talking in a raspy voice. "You've beaten me Slade."

Confusion showed on Rich's face. "You idiot, I'm Rich not Slade."

Nightwing chuckled weakly. "Sure thing Slade, whatever you say. I admit, this must be better than the powder you used on me before when I hallucinated about you, but it still shows that you can't beat me without any tricks."

Rich growled at Nightwing. "I'm Rich you moron! Slade is gone! I did it all, ALL OF IT!!"

Nightwing scoffed. "I don't think so. Rich loves Raven too much to hurt her over something as stupid as an eavesdropped conversation. I mean, how could you possibly have heard what she whispered directly into my ear unless you were right there." Nightwing then paused as if thinking about something. "Well, you might be Rich; you did go off halfcocked without getting a full story." He paused as if thinking again. "No, that's not right. I'm the one who goes off halfcocked. Rich was the logical one who thinks first not shoots first. So you have to be Slade . . . because Rich . . . Rich would find out the tr- . . . truth first." The last part of the statement was coming out in coughs and sputters as Nightwing began to have trouble breathing with all of his energy gone and the beating he'd taken from Rich. As his vision began to swim and darken, he focused on Rich's face.

Rich's face had contorted in different emotions; from anger, to confusion, and finally to realization. "I-it was a m-misunderstanding?"

Rich jerked his boot off of Nightwing just after he blue and black clad hero exhaled one final time. There was no intake of breath following it. Rich looked back over towards the Teen Titans with a look of pure terror, which was mirrored on their faces as well. He began to back-peddle away before grabbing onto his head. He arched his back and screamed for all he was worth. It was the scream of a man with nothing left to live for. The scream shook the very cores of each of the Teen Titans, but that wasn't the end of the surprises. They suddenly found themselves forcefully shoved back into the blackness of the abyss. A flash of light suddenly greeted them and they arrived back in the real world in a heap. Before anyone could act, the mirror had collided with the ground and surprisingly hadn't shattered. Once it rested on the ground, however, the mirror seemed to explode into small pieces leaving only the frame behind. This phenomenon was accompanied by a strange noise them could only be described as an annoying and constant ringing in the ears. The team turned their heads as one and gazed upon the source of the incessant noise.

It was a heart monitor.

It was hooked up to Rich on the table.

It was flat-lined.

_**Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break . . . . . . . . . . Page Break**_

JacketSlacker: Okay, I know what some of you are thinking: "He finally gives us another chapter and it either 1) sucked this bad or 2) had the most evil cliff-hanger around." Now, before the lynch mob forms, let me plead my case. I have lost my muse. I'm kinda borrowing one from some friends to get this out. Life threw me a few curveballs lately and it's been hard to write. I'm trying to get back into it, just not having any luck. I don't know when the next chapter will be out. I hope to not take another year to get it done, but ya never know with me. Oh well. My next adventure into writing will be a chapter for my Inuyasha fic, which I've already got planned out basically so it should be easier (hopefully) than this chapter was. I'm also thinking of using something someone suggested to help me on my writer's block. Start another fic or a oneshot. I'm leaning towards some kind of Danny Phantom fic, with my own dark/angsty flare as part of it. I don't know if it will cross with anything (Teen Titans most likely or maybe Kim Possible) but we'll see. I know, why the hell would I start another fic if I can't finish my current ones. The reason, to help jumpstart my writing process again. Just drop me some ideas or something and I'll see what I can do. As always review and tell me what you think for this story and future ideas. And remember, ya gotta have faith. GO SAINTS!!!


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